Red Thread of Fate
by MonMonCandie
Summary: Two Hearts For Two Challenge by Terra ForceXIII. Intertwining destinies each with a story to tell and it's all because of a red string. Some believe it while others refute it, but before you know it, you're falling in deep. Vanitas/Xion and Ventus/Fuu AU.
1. Anniversary

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Yup. Right after I complete one challenge, I start two more (the second one will come later xD). I'm so insane! But anyways, yay new challenge and an interesting one too! Why? Because I've _never _touched VenFuu. That one…is strange to me. xD Maybe it's because I view Fuu in her FF8 incarnation? Trust me, she's different _there _than in Kingdom Hearts and…yeah, I'm used to _only _seeing her as-is from the FF8 fandom. :P LOL But hey, it's a challenge and opening up to new things isn't bad sometimes right? :) Each chapter contains two parts: a VaniShi part and a VenFuu part. They can be separate stories or not, but they need to explore the same theme each chapter.

I _was _just planning this to be all drabbles like _Polar Reflections, _but as I was pre-writing the summary, a mad story plot just entered my head and I _had _to use it! :D This story will most likely consist of: _Romance/Fantasy/Humor/Friendship. _If anyone's curious why Fantasy is there, then it's because I'm adding slight magical elements to an otherwise pretty normal story setting. Also, I will have other pairings popping up throughout the story. If some of you already know about me, then you already know my default pairings unless I state otherwise. :P

Now, enough of my rambling (I really need to stop doing that)! I hope you'll find this enjoyable as I go along. I would really appreciate getting feedback so I know if and what I'm doing is interesting. :) Thanks and enjoy!

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><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

"You have to be kidding me," Vanitas muttered under his breath as he rolled his eyes. He placed his hands in his pockets as he walked down the street with a raven-haired girl reading a magazine. Vanitas glared at her. "Please tell me you are _joking, _Xion."

Sapphire eyes narrowed in annoyance and Xion leaned towards Vanitas just to invade his personal space. "Oh, come on, Vanitas! I think it's a great idea to celebrate our anniversary."

"What 'anniversary'?" Vanitas questioned. He had half the mind to lean down towards her lips, but hey, Vanitas had morals…sometimes. Instead of doing _that,_ Vanitas chose to lean away and mumbled sarcastically. "I never realized we were married—"

"Dummy!" The girl stuck out her tongue after whacking Vanitas with her magazine. She ignored his leer and continued walking. "Not _that_ kind of anniversary! I meant the anniversary of our _friendship."_ She smiled warmly, hands behind her back. "We've been friends for…three years now?"

Giving off the impression that he was thinking, Vanitas nodded. "Maybe…"

"'Maybe' he says." Xion pouted, but continued regardless. "In any case, I just think that you and I should do something special. I mean, I've never had a friend for that long before since I used to move a lot…"

_Stop. Being. Cute,_ Vanitas scowled when he eyed Xion's attempt at the 'begging puppy' look. She didn't have to do that…he was _kind of_ into her already (in secret). Flicking her forehead—earning a shout of protest—Vanitas coolly replied. "Fine, but if we go to Disney Town, consider the deal off."

Squealing happily, Xion threw her arms around Vanitas and hugged him tightly. "You're so awesome, Vani! I'll text you the details later!"

"Yeah, yeah," he lamely replied, wondering if he should return the hug. Then again…that would be weird, right?

Pulling away, the raven-haired girl ran forward when she noticed her bus was coming. Waving at Vanitas, she cried, "I'll see you at school tomorrow! Tell Sora I said hi!"

"Bye…" Vanitas weakly waved, watching as Xion boarded her bus. Left alone, he sighed before mentally beating himself up. Vanitas missed _another_ opportunity to probably tell Xion how he _really_ felt about her, but no! He decided against it because his pride won out—again.

_Screw it,_ Vanitas thought to himself.

So what if he never tells Xion that he likes her more than a friend? It wasn't like it would do him any favors. There would be a day when everything was good, but the fireworks would die out; they would break up (if they ever went out); and Vanitas would probably lose Xion (friend aspect and all). Being _just friends _was okay in his book…even if it set a bitter taste in his mouth. Turning around so he could backtrack to convenience store, Vanitas spotted something that _wasn't _there on the street moments ago.

When in the hell did that blue tent get set up by the lone alleyway of the street?

* * *

><p><strong>- 01 -<br>.: Anniversary :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

_Trouble! I'm in trouble!_ Ventus mentally shouted to himself as he weaved, dodged, and jumped past anything and everything he came across. Roxas was going to _kill_ him if he was late for another Struggle practice! Ventus hated working at the local grocery store; he was practically _forced _to clean up after _every _mess and spills!

Looking at his watch, Ventus's sky-blue eyes widened. It was already past four. It was official: Roxas was going to murder him—

"Whoa!" Ventus immediately flopped forward, falling over an object that shrieked in surprise. Oh wait…he fell over a _person._ He quickly sat up and apologized. "I'm sorry! I should've been watching where I was going, but I'm really late!"

"…Ven?"

The blond froze, recognizing the voice. Nervously, he answered back. "N…Naminé?"

Staring happily at him were the brightest doe eyes Ventus has ever seen…and it made his heart skip a beat. The girl, Naminé, giggled. "I should've known it was you. Not many people run as fast as you do."

Ventus paused before rambling unintelligibly, "Ohmygosh! I'msosorry! Doyouneedtogotothedoctor—?"

Naminé placed a delicate finger to Ventus's lips and that immediately silenced him. "Ven, don't worry about it. I'm fine."

Sighing, Ventus helped Naminé to her feet and apologized again; calmly this time, "Sorry, Naminé. I didn't mean to run into you. I'm late for—"

"Struggle practice?" Naminé answered for him. "I know. Roxas told me."

"…Oh."

Another giggle escaped Naminé as she dusted off Ventus's shoulders. "You should probably get going then."

"W-What about you?" Ventus immediately asked. "Are you, uh…?"

"I want to watch, but I have to paint something for my art school's fiftieth anniversary. Project's due in two days." Naminé smiled as she started walking down the street again. "I'll come watch you another time; I promise."

Ventus grinned. "Okay then. Bye, Naminé."

"Bye… Oh!" the female blonde added. "Could you tell Roxas to call me later? I forgot my cell phone at home."

"Sure." Ventus chuckled. "I can do that."

Smiling gratefully, Naminé waved one last time before turning the corner. Ventus stood in place just admiring his run-in with the pretty little blonde…before remembering that pretty little blonde was his twin brother's _girlfriend._

_Get real! Like you even stood a chance with Naminé! _

Sometimes Ventus hated his conscious because it hardly spouted something comforting to _him. _Frowning, Ventus retorted to himself, "Shut up!" It was only then he noticed a girl with silvery, lavender hair staring at him with wine-colored eyes as she was attempting to walk by him. Ventus blushed in embarrassment. "Oh crap! That wasn't directed at you! I was talking to myself! I was, uh…"

Ventus only received silence on the girl's part and that made him flush a deeper shade of red. Finally, the girl reacted…by simply walking away wordlessly. Great! Ventus just made himself look _crazy_ to a complete stranger…

Defeated, Ventus dragged his feet before noticing a small red tent sitting in the deserted part of the park.


	2. Employ

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Finally! The second chapter is released! :D Sorry for the wait. I was having trouble with how to fit what I wanted in here and then determining when to post this so it didn't clash with my other stories. |D I'm a bad person for taking on so many challenges. LOL! Anyways, I incorporated a bit of fortunetelling here because I actually like fortunetelling even though I have no idea how to do it myself. ;) I used two methods here: the more common palm reading and reading a fortune by using water (I forgot the name of it :P). I would've used Luxord for this because he fits the role more, what with his cards and talk of lady luck, but the two people below have a point in this story. :3 I'll try and squeeze another chapter tomorrow since I realize this chapter's a little cryptic, but that's kind of how I do things right? :P Besides, I need to post as much as I can before I go back to school. ;)

Anyways! Thanks so much for the alerts, favorites, and reviews so far! Much appreciated! Please enjoy and R&R!

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><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

Vanitas took a cautious step forward before shaking his head. What was he _doing?_ So what if there was a tent sitting by the street? It was obviously _suspicious_. He should just ignore it, but…his curiosity got the better of him. Vanitas calmly headed for the blue tent, preparing himself for any danger if he so came across it. Just as he was going to open the flap, a woman stepped out and Vanitas made contact with her…well-endowed chest.

"Eyes up _here."_ The blue-haired lady tilted Vanitas's chin so he was properly looking at her face. With a blink of his gold eyes, Vanitas saw the smile painting the woman's face. "Hello there."

"…Hi?"

"Please, come in." Without warning, the blue-haired lady pulled Vanitas inside the tent before he could protest. She guided him towards a chair and made him sit down. Vanitas…he was just confused all around.

Taking a look, the tent didn't offer much. There was a simple table, two wooden chairs on either side of it, and a large bowl half-filled with water on the table. The raven-haired teen just stared at the bowl before he trailed his focus towards the blue-haired lady.

She sat down on the opposing chair and intertwined her fingers together before resting her chin on them. "So then…"

"…Why am I here?" Vanitas asked a little suspiciously. "Who are you?"

The woman laughed before answering, "You ask a lot of questions… In any case, you can call me Aqua."

"Fine. What do you want?" he questioned monotonously.

"I wanted to give you a fortune today."

"Fortune? Fortune _telling?" _Vanitas looked incredulously. "Look, lady, sorry to burst your bubble, but I don't—"

Aqua ignored his plight, dipping two of her fingers into the water basin and creating ripples. "It will be quick, Vanitas. Just listen to what I will say, alright?"

He froze. How did she know his _name? _Vanitas was about to open his mouth when she raised her hand and gestured for him to watch the water basin. Not sure what to do, Vanitas slowly looked down and watched as the ripples in the water started dancing strangely. Suddenly, an image formed in the water… It was Xion.

Vanitas's eyes widened as Aqua began to speak calmly, "Judging by the ripples, you've liked Xion for about three years. You haven't told her your feelings because you're afraid of how Xion will react. Is that right?"

"H…How are you doing this?" Vanitas demanded, narrowing his eyes. "Are you _spying _on me?"

"No, I'm just doing my job."

"What _job?" _Vanitas asked; patience wearing thin.

With swift action, Aqua suddenly wrapped her fingers around Vanitas's right pinky finger. When she removed her hand, there was a faint trace of a red string wrapped around his pinky before it vanished. Vanitas stared in awe as Aqua explained. "You and Xion are tied by a red string. It's my job to make sure that stays intact."

"Come…again?"

Aqua smiled. "Xion's your _soulmate, _Vanitas."

* * *

><p><strong>- 02 -<br>.: Employ :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

There was something suspicious about that tent, but—Ventus being Ventus—his curiosity overwhelmed his judgment. Opening the flap and sticking his head inside, the blond spotted a simple table, two chairs, and…another room in the tent? Ventus pulled his head out and double-checked. What the heck? The tent was _small_ on the outside so why was it _big _on the inside?

"So you came back!" Ventus jumped at the sound of a male voice. A tall, brunet man stepped out from the extra room with an arrogant smirk. "I _knew_ you would come back. What I told you was actually intriguing, huh?"

"Umm…what?" was Ventus's intelligent reply.

Blinking, the brunet actually _examined_ Ventus before frowning with his arms crossed. "You…aren't the girl that was just here…"

_Obviously not,_ Ventus thought. He most definitely _wasn't_ a girl! "Umm…well I ran into _a_ girl before I entered. Did you need to speak with her?"

The brunet critically looked over Ventus with a hum. The blond fidgeted under his intense stare before the brunet grinned. "No, it's fine. Please sit."

Ventus stiffened, replying. "Okay…?" Watching the brunet carefully as he sat down at the table, Ventus asked. "Sir—"

"Terra's fine," the brunet said as he sat down opposite of Ventus and held out his hand. "Right palm please." When Ventus stared blankly, Terra rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna bite."

Pouting, Ventus slowly offered his palm before Terra immediately grabbed it. "Hey!"

"Relax, Ventus." Terra smirked. "Or do you prefer Ven?"

"How do you know my name?" the blond astounded.

"I have a nifty power," Terra joked, studying each of the lines on Ventus's palm. The blond realized Terra was doing a _palm reading, _but why? And Ventus didn't have any money on him if Terra was going to ask for compensation afterwards… Suddenly, Terra let out another smirk without removing his eyes from Ventus's palm. "I guess it was better that _you _walked into the tent."

"Huh?"

Terra ignored Ventus and reported, "You have an older twin brother named Roxas that you're kind of jealous of, right? He's got all of Naminé's attention…and you really don't like that."

Ventus blankly stared before frowning. Who was this guy and what _right_ did he have to invade Ventus's _privacy? _The blond attempted to stand up; obviously offended. "Sorry, but I gotta go." His attempt to leave was near futile when Terra tightly grasped Ventus's right palm. "Let go!"

"You shouldn't worry so much about Naminé," Terra coolly began. Removing his hand, a red string—that was attached to Ventus's pinky without his knowing—was held between Terra's fingers. When he released the string, it started to disappear in a trail of light. "You'll get over Naminé soon enough. She isn't 'The One'."

"The…One?" Ventus stared at his pinky in puzzlement before quickly looking at Terra. "What do you mean?"

Terra leaned back in his seat casually. "You'll see soon enough. The girl you're looking for…she's closer than you think. Trust me, Ven."


	3. Remark

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Yay! The third chapter! :D This one was a lot easier to write than the last one. There's a little bit more info on the whole thread thing just to keep this interesting. ;3 And I apologize if the Ven/Fuu interaction is a little slow. I promise it'll pick up in the future. ^^

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R! :)

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><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

"_Soulmate?"_

"_Yes. Do you believe in them?"_

"…_Well…"_

"Vanitas!" The raven-haired male snapped out of his daydream and turned his head to look at Xion's questioning expression. She fidgeted in her spot as Vanitas leaned his back against the row of lockers. "What's up with you? Did you even hear a word I just said?"

He stayed quiet, looking up in thought. _Was _he listening to anything Xion just said?

…Nope.

Automatically, she slapped his arm and pouted. "Jerk!"

"What?" he retorted lamely. When Xion continued to glower at him, he shrugged. "Oh, come on. You can't expect a _guy _to continuously listen to your rambling."

"I wasn't rambling!" Xion exclaimed with a cross of her arms. "And this was _important!_ It's about our anniversary date!"

_Anniversary date… _he grumbled to himself. Three years of friendship… Who celebrates _that? _Suddenly very curious, he asked. "Do you believe in soulmates?"

Xion was taken aback by his strange question. "Soulmates?"

"Yeah." His amber eyes rested on Xion's sapphire ones. "Do you believe they exist?"

"Umm…" The raven-haired female placed a finger to her chin before looking at Vanitas blankly. "No. I mean, it _would _be nice to meet your 'fated other', but that's unrealistic."

"…I guess."

"Why are you asking?" Xion questioned. "That was seriously the _weirdest _remark I've ever heard coming out of your mouth."

Vanitas glared at her, messing up Xion's hair on purpose. "Well if you would _shut up _about your girly needs, I wouldn't have said that."

"Ow! Vanitas!" Xion protested, trying to get away.

"You guys flirting _again?" _Vanitas let out an annoyed sigh, glaring at the brunet who shared his face. Jumping back, his twin brother, Sora, raised his hands and grinned. "Joking, Vanitas!"

"Let _go_ already!" Xion spat, socking him in the stomach. With Vanitas incapacitated, Xion ran away; her bag in hand. Sticking out her tongue, she waved playfully at Vanitas and Sora. "I'll see you guys later! Bye, Vani!"

Vanitas held his stomach as he lowly growled. "Get _back_ here, Xion…!"

"No!" Xion laughed as she ran down the hall.

Sora let out a chortle of his own, slapping Vanitas on the shoulder before placing his hands behind his head. "I like her. She keeps you in line."

"Oh, haha." Vanitas sneered, standing back up. "You're _so _funny…"

The brunet took that as a compliment. "Why thank you! Anyways, let's get going. The bell's gonna ring soon."

"Yeah, yeah…" Vanitas sighed and followed after his brother. He stopped for a moment to look over his shoulder, finding Xion talking with a blond classmate and a senior with fiery red hair. On Xion's right pinky finger was a blue thread that only _Vanitas _could see…

_Aqua let out a smile. "You should look at Xion's little finger, Vanitas. Since I've marked you, you should be able to see Xion's thread. If it's blue, then it just means Xion hasn't realized that you're the one for her."_

It was still farfetched, but maybe…soulmates _did _exist.

* * *

><p><strong>- 03 -<br>.: Remark :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

"You _promise _you'll be there," Roxas sternly asked.

"Yes!" Ventus replied for the umpteenth time. He gave his twin a deadpan look and reiterated slowly. "I promise I'll be there for Struggle practice today. Cross my heart and hope to—"

"No dying." Roxas chuckled with a sincere smile. "I'm just worried about you. You were so…out of it the other day; almost as if someone showed you a magic trick you _really _wanted to figure out."

Ventus stiffened, replying too quickly, "What? No! Not really. Uh…"

Roxas quirked an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, a bright female voice intervened, "You know, I could draw a picture of you two doing anything and I'd still love how symmetrical it would be."

Both twins glanced at the approaching blonde with two different expressions: Roxas was smiling whereas Ventus looked dumbfounded. Almost immediately, Roxas wrapped his hand around Naminé's, locking their fingers together before kissing her fingers. "Hey, I thought _I_ was picking you up today."

"My classes ended earlier than expected so I thought I'd pick _you _up." Naminé giggled. She looked at Ventus and smiled. "Hi, Ven."

"Hey, Naminé," Ventus replied, trying his best to ignore the lovey-dovey atmosphere between his twin and his crush. Uncomfortable, he lied. "Oh, hey! I think I forgot something in my locker! I'm gonna go get it, okay?"

Roxas frowned. "Hey, Ven…"

"Don't worry, Roxas." Ventus laughed, already moving. "I'll be at the park later; honest!" Without even waiting for a reply, Ventus had dashed away. He rounded the corner of the school before leaning against the wall. Damn… Was he _that_ jealous? Ventus knew he shouldn't be…but he liked Naminé _first…_

After calming down, Ventus pushed off the wall before noticing a girl standing by the lone cherry blossom tree in the school's courtyard. Her back was facing him, but Ventus knew she was staring up at the blossoms; her short, lavender hair blowing in the wind. Curious, Ventus walked up to her, following her line of vision and noticing a small pinwheel stuck within the tree's branches.

"Is that yours?" Ventus asked, looking at the girl.

She slowly lowered her gaze to meet his and Ventus's breath hitched when he saw the girl's wine-colored eyes. They were…pretty…and familiar. His staring must've prompted her to talk because she quietly yet firmly spoke, "No."

"Oh." Ventus rubbed the back of his head. "Then, uh…what were you doing?"

The girl was suddenly walking away as she remarked shortly, "Curious."

Ventus thought the girl was a little puzzling until he saw _it._ As the girl walked away, the blond was faintly aware of a blue-colored string tailing after her. Following the string's length, it changed color from blue, mixing to a purple, before becoming red. Wait a minute… The red end of the string was tied to _his _pinky finger! Ventus's eyes widened when he realized the girl was _connected to him._

…Holy crap! Then what that guy—Terra?—said…was _true?_

_No. Fricken. WAY!_


	4. Enrichment

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **And the plot thickens! XD LOL Ah, still leading into the romance. Sorry guys. D: But maybe now you guys can predict what's going to happen next? ;) LOL We shall see! Also, I did use Seifer and the others, but bear in mind that I might not include Vivi in the posse. Why? I…don't know how to write Vivi and writing out Seifer, Rai, and Fuu ONLY is a lot easier for me. I can just base their mannerisms from FF8. I love that game. :3 Oh, and I love Seifer too. He was always one of my favorite characters to write from FF8. XD Also, just reminder there's a poll on my profile. I thought I would get a definite answer yesterday, but it seems two stories are tied. I need that tiebreaker people! XD

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R!

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><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

The walk home was relatively normal. Sora was jabbering on like usual; it was nothing special.

"…and then Kairi told me that next week's math test is going to be a pain in the butt." Sora sighed, hanging his head. "I don't know what I was thinking when I made that bet with Riku. He's going to rub it in my face if I don't score a ninety percent or higher on that test!"

Vanitas lamely replied for the sake of keeping Sora off his back, "I thought you were good at math."

"I'm good with algebra…not pre-calc." The brunet groaned. "What am I going to do, Vanitas?"

"…Don't ask me. I'm not the one doing some stupid bet," Vanitas retorted before digging his pockets for his phone. It vibrated against his pants and the raven-haired twin used this opportunity to ignore Sora's whining. Flipping it open, he got a message from Xion:

"_Hey! So I picked out a destination for our date! Are you up for sushi?"_

He _really _wished Xion wouldn't use the term 'date' so loosely. He texted back:

"_Whatever. Sushi's okay. Am I picking you up?"_

A response from Xion came back momentarily:

"_No. We'll just meet up at a spot or something. I'll text you back with more details 'kay?"_

Vanitas shrugged to himself before pocketing his phone again. Noticing Sora's stare, he narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"Are you _sure _you're not dating, Xion?" Sora asked, tilting his head. "From the way you guys interact, it already looks like you guys are."

Amber eyes were rolled in exasperation and Vanitas quickened his walking pace. "You're always assuming things."

Sora caught up to Vanitas. "No, I'm serious! A lot of people in school think you two are the real deal!"

"First of all, I don't understand why idiots at school are sticking their noses in my relationships. Second of all, why do _you_ care?" Vanitas stopped walking to glare at the brunet. If there was one thing Vanitas hated about his twin, it was how nosy he could be; even though it was sometimes unintentional.

The brunet flinched, rubbing the back of his head and lowering his gaze. "I just…I worry about you, Vanitas. I mean…I know it's hard for you to trust people—"

"Well get it through your thick skull, Sora." Vanitas inhaled deeply to calm himself before he continued walking. "I don't need you or anyone else babying me. So knock it off."

In all honesty, Vanitas didn't mean to explode at Sora when he only wanted to help. It was just…hard for Vanitas to take control of his emotions sometimes. Was he cynical? Perhaps, but Vanitas was betrayed by people before. Of course he wouldn't easily let anyone in; especially Sora.

But with Xion…it was a little different. She was…special. Maybe it was because he liked her, but even then, Vanitas knew that was dangerous thinking.

He was enriched with her presence, but at the same time, it made him that more cynical.

* * *

><p><strong>- 04 -<br>.: Enrichment :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

She turned this way! He _knew _she did!

_Gotcha! _Ventus quickened his run when he noticed that girl walking towards the school gate. "Wait!" Grabbing her wrist, mild shock (maybe disgust?) painted the girl's face, but Ventus couldn't tell; she was so _stoic! _Catching his breath, Ventus started. "Y-You…! The string!"

She again stared at him before she pulled her wrist away and frowned. "Weird."

"No, I'm serious! You have a blue thread—!" Ventus stated before his collar was grabbed at and emerald-green eyes were glaring daggers at him.

"Well, well. What idiot did you pick up, Fuu?" the emerald-eyed blond asked, a mocking tone in his voice.

Ventus blinked a few times before realizing who this person was. "Seifer!"

"The one and only." Seifer smirked, pushing Ventus to the right and he ended up colliding into a bigger body. Heavy hands clamped down on his shoulders and Ventus looked up to stare at the face of a tanned youth. Seifer circled around the girl, Fuu, and asked. "So? Who's the chicken-wuss?"

Fuu shrugged, staring at Ventus with a deadpan look. "Stalker."

"What?" Seifer snorted; Ventus's eyes widening in disbelief. Seifer and the bulkier kid started laughing out loud. "Seriously? Oh man, that's fricken hilarious, Fuu! Right, Rai?"

"Oh yeah!" Rai's voice boomed. "Like Fuu has any sex appeal, ya know?" Suddenly Fuu's visible eye narrowed and she quickly walked up to Rai and kicked him behind the knee. Rai toppled over and Ventus was almost crushed! Luckily, he moved away before that could happen. Rai moaned. "Ow…"

"Moron," Fuu spat.

"Hey!" Ventus could see Roxas running up to them. He stood beside his brother before glaring at Seifer. "What are you doing to Ven?"

"What are _we _doing?" Seifer waved his hand. "Oh, please. _He _was the one chasing after Fuu and you're blaming _us _for the mess he got himself into? Tch, dumbass."

Roxas's frown deepened and he pulled Ventus away. "C'mon, Ven. We don't have to waste our breath on them." Ventus merely followed, looking over his shoulder towards Fuu. He caught her eye for a moment before she glanced away. Once they separated from Seifer's gang, Roxas scolded. "What the heck, Ven? Why'd you get caught up with Seifer and his posse?"

"I-I didn't mean to," Ventus muttered. He tried to justify himself. "I just wanted to talk to that girl…"

"Fuu? She's the _last _girl you want to get involved with!"

Ventus furrowed his eyebrows. "Why? She seems harmless."

"She _appears_ harmless, but there's a reasonwhy she's in Seifer's gang." Roxas sighed. As they closed in on the gate, the older twin continued. "Listen, promise me you won't get yourself mixed up in something stupid, okay? I don't want Naminé worrying about you."

Feeling guilty, Ventus lowered his head and nodded. "Fine…"

…But Ventus couldn't keep away from that girl; he _needed _to talk with her. She couldn't see the string? Really?

Ventus needed information; he needed to find Terra again.


	5. Meeting

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **So! For the people who voted on the polls, this is the result! I'll be updating RTF Fridays through Sundays consecutively! X3 Thanks so much for helping me decide guys! Anyways, this chapter is more like a "lead up" then anything else. I'm getting there with Ven; just hang on! xD Also if people didn't already know, Vanitas and Ven are living in the same settings and probably know the same people. So if you see any crossing over, that's normal. Lastly, just because you read Vanitas's story first, doesn't mean his events happen before Ven's. It can be the opposite. :)

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

A small yawn escaped Vanitas's mouth as he stepped off the train and began walking towards the spot where he and Xion would meet up for their 'anniversary date…' Stupid date. And stupid (not really) Xion for calling him so early in the morning to make sure he was _going._ If he said something snappy later, it would be Xion's fault because he wasn't functioning on a full eight hours of sleep.

Just as he was about to reach the street clock in the middle of the city square, Vanitas spotted someone familiar standing underneath the clock. It was that blue-haired woman from before; the one who fed him all that gibberish about soulmates and strings… She was dressed up pretty nicely.

Begrudgingly, Vanitas walked up to the street clock and spoke, "Are you meeting someone or are you bothering me again?"

Aqua flinched and turned her head. Spotting Vanitas, she smiled a little. "Meeting someone…"

"Yeah right—"

"—Someone who was _supposed_ to be here thirty minutes ago!" Aqua vented angrily and her change in attitude caught Vanitas by surprise. He took a step back when he noticed Aqua's glower and felt negative vibes radiating off her skin. She was…pretty mad. Complaining, Aqua started throwing her hands up in the air. _"He_ was the one who wanted to meet me here and he can't even keep his word anymore! I swear, when I see Terra next, I'm going to—"

Vanitas loudly cleared his throat and caught Aqua's attention. When she turned to face him, the raven-haired twin raised an eyebrow. "You…normally rant like that?"

Suddenly realizing her behavior, Aqua blushed slightly and she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "P-Pardon me!"

"…I don't care."

"Vanitas!" Turning around, said raven-haired teen saw Xion running up to him with a big smile on her face. Once she reached him—catching her breath at the same time—Xion started bouncing on her toes. "Oh my gosh! I'm so excited! So anyways, I have everything plan out and we just have to… Who's this?"

He stared at her before following Xion's line of vision…which was on Aqua. The blue-haired woman smiled, offering her palm. "Hello. I'm Aqua."

"Nice to meet you, Aqua," Xion replied with a beam and shook Aqua's palm. She continued. "I'm Xion! Are you friends with Vanitas?"

"No," Vanitas immediately answered before taking Xion's hand and leading her away. "She's obviously misinformed. Ignore her."

Aqua rolled her eyes, but waved just the same. Smiling sweetly, Aqua bid, "Have fun on your _date,_ you two."

Xion blinked and looked at Vanitas as he continued to pull her. "She knows about our anniversary date?"

"Just keep walking, Xion," Vanitas urged, pacing faster. He could hear Aqua's giggling and—luckily his back was facing Xion—Vanitas scowled. He had a feeling Aqua was making fun of him because of his situation with Xion. Vanitas thought childishly, _Least _I _didn't have to wait thirty minutes for Xion to show up._

* * *

><p><strong>- 05 -<br>.: Meeting :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

_Where is it? _Ventus continued turning his head from left to right in hopes of finding any trace of that darned tent. He checked the park where he originally found it, but it wasn't there anymore! Did Terra just _scam_ him? Well…Ventus couldn't be scammed in the first place because he never gave anything to Terra, but still! Frustrated, Ventus began rubbing his hair furiously and growled to the sky. "I can't believe this! He tricked me!"

Just as he was about to curse the brunet male some more, a voice from behind him joked, "Wow. You get really worked up, don't you?"

Blinking, Ventus turned around to find Terra staring at him in amusement. The brunet was wearing something sleek yet casual; almost as if he was planning to meet someone. It took a moment for the situation to dawn on the blond and he pointed with his finger, exclaiming, "It's you!"

"Yeah…" Terra slowly replied, hands in his denim pant pockets. "So?"

"What did you _do?"_ Ventus cried foul play as he walked up to the brunet and tried to look intimidating by standing on his toes to level his face with Terra's. Unfortunately, Ventus's short stature didn't give him that luxury since Ventus only reached up to Terra's neck. Either way, he ranted. "Why is it that I _see_ some string following after a girl I don't know…and that same string is connected to _me?"_

Terra grinned, ignoring Ventus's plight. "So you found her already!"

"Who _is_ she?" Ventus shouted and Terra had to cover his mouth because they were drawing attention.

"Calm down, Ven." Terra sighed. When they were inconspicuous again, he removed his palm. "I'm going to assume that the girl you saw was your soulmate."

"…_Soulmate?"_

"Yes, and I have to say, your guys' twin flames are interesting—"

Ventus interrupted while shaking his head. "Terra, I don't want to have a soulmate!"

Terra—confused by Ventus's panicked reaction—furrowed his eyebrows. "Why are you freaking out?"

"Because I _don't_ know who this girl is!" The blond rubbed his face while pacing back and forth. "I just _met _her…and you're saying she's my _soulmate?_ That doesn't make any sense!"

When he received silence, Ventus glanced at Terra and the brunet chuckled lightheartedly. "You're just _scared,_ Ven. I promise you, Fuu's exactly what you need."

Tired of the guessing games, Ventus pouted. "How are you doing that? With the names?"

"Secret." Terra shrugged, ruffling the blond's hair while walking past him. "Anyways, I gotta go and meet _my _soulmate too."

"…Not today."

"What—" Terra was suddenly being pulled and pushed away from his perceived direction. "Hey! What the hell?"

Ventus pushed Terra's back in the other direction and grunted. "You're helping me fix this problem you oh-so-happily bestowed on me _first_ before you do anything else!"

Terra's eyes widened. "What? I can't do that! Aqua's—"

"I don't care!" Ventus ignored. "Do your job and help me see _why_ Fuu's my soulmate! …Or whatever!"


	6. Sunflower

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Not much to say about this actually. Except for maybe I apologize for this coming out so late. D:

Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

"Would you be against having a puppy?" Xion asked as she licked her sea-salt ice cream.

Vanitas shrugged, throwing his food wrapper away in a nearby garbage can. "No, but I don't need one. Sora's enough of a puppy as is."

Xion sputtered. "Hey, that's not nice!"

"But it's true," Vanitas stubbornly remarked with a smirk. As Xion continued to laugh, the raven-haired male couldn't help but watch the last bit of Xion's ice cream melt. Without even asking, he leaned down and finished the rest of the ice cream.

The girl gasped. "Vanitas!"

"You weren't finishing it," he replied, earning himself a slap from Xion.

"You're _so _mean!" Xion pouted. Poking Vanitas with her now emptied stick, she demanded. "Because you did _that, _you have to buy me something."

Vanitas raised an eyebrow in question. "I didn't think I had to _treat _you on this anniversary thing."

Xion looked away and locked her hands behind her back. "Then don't eat my ice cream… Oh!" Xion started grinning at Vanitas again and he had to wonder when and why this particular girl developed a habit of changing her attitude so much. "I forgot that our next stop is going to be at the planetarium! Before we actually reach it, there's a small shop that sells sunflower seeds. You should buy me those!"

Staring at her, Vanitas couldn't help but let the chuckle escape his lips. Shaking his head, he commented with a satisfied sigh. "You really _are _a little bird aren't you, Xion?"

"What? No I'm not!"

"I'm going to start calling you…Blackbird."

She threw her hands up in the air and rolled her eyes. "Seriously, once you have an idea in mind, it's hard to stop you."

"You keep throwing ideas out there. Maybe that's why." Vanitas smugly laughed. Walking forward with hands in his pockets, Vanitas added. "Come on, Blackbird. Let's get you those seeds now."

"…Whatever." Xion quickly walked side-by-side with Vanitas and stuck her tongue out at him. It made Vanitas chuckle a little, but not enough for a full blown chortle. He wouldn't admit it, but this little anniversary thing was…kinda fun.

Looking down at his hand, that red string was still tightly snug against his pinky finger. He followed its length with his gold eyes and it quickly turned into Xion's blue string on her right pinky finger as she remained oblivious. She continued to talk about something a friend of hers—the…blond one?—told her at school the other day; something about her friend's twin brother acting weird, but Vanitas could care less. All _he _was curious about was what would happen if _Xion _knew there was a string on her finger. Would she resign to whatever fate they were given…or simply fight it because her future was supposed to be with him? Vanitas's eyes darkened and he refrained from letting himself hold Xion's hand like he originally wanted to.

Maybe…it was time to act out on those feelings he had.

* * *

><p><strong>- 06 -<br>.: Sunflower :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

"Let me get this straight." Ventus counted his fingers while sitting at a table on a café patio. "Fuu and I are soulmates because of our compatible personalities;1 this was 'decided' before _either _of us were born; and…the _stars_ indicated this?"

Terra pinched the bridge of his nose. "For the last time, _yes." _The brunet threw Ventus a dirty look as the boy drank a chocolate milkshake. "What the hell… I can't believe a _runt _like you pulled me away from seeing a _very _important person _and _I had to buy you a fricken milkshake. When I tied you to Fate, I wasn't expecting _you _to be the troublesome half."

"Pay attention, Terra. Let's keep stick to the topic at hand," Ventus sternly replied before his curiosity got the better of him. "…Who were you going to see?"

Rolling his eyes, Terra indulged, "My—"

"Ow!" Blinking, Ventus and Terra looked across the street and the blond's eyes widened. Fuu was across the street…with that Rai guy. The bulkier teen was rubbing his side as he apologized to the glaring female. "I was only joking, ya know?"

"Proceed," Fuu demanded with a cross of her arms.

Sighing, Rai did what was told and picked up the plastic bag before walking down the street. He replied, "Yeah, yeah… Later, Fuu."

Fuu nodded. "Rai."

Ventus had been watching the scene with so much interest, he almost missed Terra's chuckling. Focusing on the brunet, Ventus asked, "What?"

"See? You're already paying so much attention to her." Terra pointed with his thumb towards Fuu, who entered a flower shop. The brunet smirked in triumph. "I _think_ I'm right about you guys being soulmates, Ven."

"…Who are you again?"

"Does that matter? You should go and talk to her."

Ventus furrowed his eyebrows. "What? No!"

Terra retorted, "Don't be a chicken." He stood up from his seat and urged. "Just _do it, _Ven. What else is there for you to lose? Besides, I can't stay here anymore; Aqua's gonna have my head."

"B-But!" Ventus panicked, standing up too. "Don't you have a cell phone? Just call Aqua and tell her something came up." Terra merely stared at Ventus and the blond questioned. "You…do have a cell phone, right?"

"…No."

The blond slapped his face. "Who _doesn't _have a cell phone in this day and age?"

"…Do I have to do _everything?" _Terra let out a frustrated sigh.

Before Ventus could say another word, Terra snapped his fingers and the blond felt a spinning sensation. He closed his eyes before opening them again when the spinning stopped. It took a moment for Ventus's eyes to adjust, but when they did…he was standing in front of the flower shop across the street. Glancing at the café, Terra wasn't even there anymore!

"What the fu—"

"You."

Ventus froze and turned around, coming face-to-face with Fuu as she held a small sunflower in her hands. She…was _not _happy. Nervously, Ventus grinned while scratching the back of his head. "Uh…hi."


	7. Teeter

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **I just heard a piano arrangement of Terra's theme and Xion's theme and I love them. ;-; LOL Anyways! I just noticed something: Zexion's name has "xion" in it! :DDD …LOL I know I'm weird, but to clarify, yeah, Zexion is Xion's brother. o_o Can you guess who her father is? XD Fuu is still a little hard to write because of her darned speech pattern. LOL Oh well. Ven sort of had a conversation with her? :D

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

He hadn't been here since he was…five? And that was when Sora couldn't stop jabbering to their parents about wanting to see 'stars that were trapped inside a building'. Vanitas was so glad Sora grew up _just a little bit. _

"Wow!" Xion exclaimed, running up ahead before turning around and waving Vanitas over. "Come on! I can't wait until the program starts!"

"…Xion, haven't you ever gone to the planetarium before?" Vanitas asked, slowly making his way to her.

She shook her head. "No, this is my first time. I would've asked Zexion to take me a long time ago…but he was just as busy as Dad so I never bothered him."

"Oh."

"Anyways, this should be fun!"

Vanitas shrugged and let himself get pulled along as Xion tugged on his wrist. Sometimes he forgot that Xion wasn't exactly 'native' to the city. He could still remember meeting her for the first time three years ago…she believed in _everything _he said.

They entered the auditorium and once they were seated, the raven-haired girl leaned back comfortably in her seat. "This is so cozy! Don't you think?"

"Sure," Vanitas answered, placing his hands on the armrest…only to realize Xion was resting her right arm on the armrest as well. He quickly put his arm on his lap. "Sorry."

Xion giggled. "It's okay." Looking up at the dome, she smiled. "I don't mind, Vanitas. You don't have to be shy."

_I am _not _being shy, _Vanitas scowled. Was _everyone _starting to think him a coward? Well they could kiss his as—

"Oh! It's starting!" Xion whispered excitedly.

Vanitas decided to keep his mouth shut and instead focused on the show…well, at least _tried _to focus. The projection began showing the vastness of the galaxy and the stars within them. The narration was rather long and boring, but again, Vanitas wasn't really paying attention. Using the dark to his advantage, Vanitas turned his head so he was looking over at Xion. She was engrossed with admiring the stars flashing and dancing before them that she hadn't noticed his staring.

"_We've been friends for…three years now?"_

"_Are you _sure _you're not dating Xion?"_

"_You haven't told her your feelings because you're afraid of how Xion will react. Is that right?"_

Blinking, Xion turned to look at Vanitas and smiled a little. Whispering, she asked, "What is it?"

"_You and Xion are tied by a red string." _He was teetering, wasn't he? On his feelings? Aqua's words continued to echo. _"Xion's your _soulmate, _Vanitas."_

Confused, the raven-haired girl tried again. "Vanitas—"

Before she could even finish, Vanitas had leaned over and pressed his lips to Xion's. He felt her freeze in shock; a reaction he was very much prepared for. Pulling away, Vanitas leaned back in his seat casually, treating what had happened like it was nothing.

As expected, Xion questioned, "W…W-What the…? Vanitas…why did you _do _that?"

"Think a little," Vanitas spared her a glance void of emotion. "I _like _you, idiot."

* * *

><p><strong>- 07 -<br>.: Teeter :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

Well this was…awkward.

"Um…Fuu, was it?" Ventus asked. He might as well make conversation, right? All this silence was _killing _him. Smiling, Ventus offered his hand and introduced himself. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Ventus, but you can call me Ven!"

Her visible eye glanced at his hand, but she decided not to take it. Without a word (because she was _obviously _the talkative type), Fuu turned on her heel and began walking down the street.

_Ah! _Ventus quickly followed after her. He didn't know _why _he was trying so hard actually; this 'soulmate' thing was just Terra talking…crazy, but Ventus could at least try making friends with her. Roxas had said a weird thing about this girl; maybe his twin brother was wrong. Once he reached Fuu's side, Ventus started again. "So, uh, what are you doing with that sunflower?"

"Secret." Fuu stopped in her step and suddenly glared at him. "Leave."

"Oh, but…" Ventus fidgeted in his spot; not sure what else to do. There was no way Terra was right; he and Fuu were just too _different._

"Fuu, you forgot—Oh!" Turning around, Ventus caught sight of a woman with braided, brunette hair. She smiled at Fuu. "A friend of yours?"

"No," the wine-eyed girl automatically answered.

_Ouch… _Ventus thought with a scratch of his head.

The brunette remained cheery. "Oh well! Here!" She handed Ventus a bag of soil. "You wouldn't be able to carry this anyways, Fuu. Have…?"

"…Ventus."

"Have _Ventus_ help you, okay?" The brunette patted the blond on the back. "I'll see you tomorrow, Fuu!"

Before either of them could even speak, the lady walked back into the flower shop and the silence took over once again. Shrugging, Ventus face Fuu and smiled apologetically. "So…lead the way?"

"…Fine." The girl rolled her eyes and gestured for Ventus to follow.

Excited, the blond nodded and carried the bag of soil. To be honest, he didn't pin Fuu as the kind of girl to take care of flowers…but he was learning something new about her! The bag was slightly heavy and Ventus started teetering as he walked. He tripped a little bit and his eyes widened as the bag made him keel over. Ventus let out a loud 'oomph' and he heard something close to…amusement?

Looking up, he saw Fuu struggling not to smile. "Funny."

Ventus grinned with a small blush. "Haha, oops." Pushing himself up, Ventus picked up the bag of soil again and cleared his throat. "Anyways, onwards!"

Fuu shook her head again with a slight smile and walked. "Come."

"Okay!" It was a little strange. Fuu was really nice…when she wasn't glaring. The blond looked over at Fuu. She was no 'Naminé', but Ventus liked her already… Oh wait! Not like that! "S-So, I have to ask, but do you always answer in short sentences?"

Raising an eyebrow, Fuu answered, "Yes."

"Can I ask why?" Ventus tilted his head.

"No."

"Oh…okay."


	8. Etiquette

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Zexion talks so formally. I like hearing him speak, but his speech pattern is hard to write. :3 Oh well... I can just imagine him voicing the dialogue. Bwahaha. At first, I was thinking someone other than Zexion made an appearance, but I scrapped that idea because I wanted to try out Zexion. Fitting into the shoes of a contemplative type is fun~ So! What do you think is going to happen with Vanitas and Xion now? Or why do you think Fuu is acting like she is? I think Ventus is already warming up to her yeah? 8D

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

It had been exactly thirty minutes since they left the planetarium—abruptly mind you—and Xion _still _wasn't talking to him. Hell…she was walking five feet _away_ from him! Vanitas had to roll his eyes. "Oh my god, Xion, it was just a kiss—"

"My _first_ kiss for your information!" Xion scowled. She pointed with her finger and turned red with fury. "Stop smiling!"

"I'm not smiling," the raven-haired male replied even though he _was_ smiling (or rather smirking). So he took her first kiss, huh? Vanitas was curious as to what other 'firsts' he could get away with from her. Walking up to her spot, he leaned forward smugly and caused Xion to lean away from him like a helpless bunny. Grinning deviously, Vanitas asked. "What's wrong? Is the little Blackbird afraid the cat's going to _eat_ her?"

Xion narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance and turned away. "N-No! And stop calling me that! You're so weird, Vanitas!" She challenged herself to look him dead in the eye and attempted. "There's this thing called 'etiquette', you know. Why don't you use it and give me some space!"

A curt chuckle escaped him and Vanitas leaned closer. To be honest, he didn't want to come on to her like this, but he felt this way of…_flirting _suited him best. Besides, teasing Xion was _always _fun. Turning her head so she was facing him—resisting the urge to kiss her _again_—Vanitas smirked. "Why? I'm only acting on how I feel about you…right?" Her sapphire eyes widened in surprise and she froze.

"So my eyes weren't deceiving me."

Gasping, Xion quickly pushed Vanitas away and he stumbled backwards. He almost tripped, but luckily his sense of balance was still intact. Xion was just so _fidgety. _Shooting a glare at the intrusion, Vanitas frowned.

"Z-Zexion!" the raven-haired girl cried out with a blush. "What are you doing here?"

"I finished my business at the library and decided to further my studies at home… When you mentioned 'date' this morning, surely you didn't mean an actually one?" Zexion observed with a book under his arm.

Xion flailed her arms. "This is _not—! _UGH!" Running up to her older brother, Xion started pushing him down the street; much to Zexion's chagrin. "We're going home!"

"So you're cutting our 'date' short?" Vanitas raised a questioning eyebrow while pocketing his hands.

Again, Xion flustered. "It was not a _date!_ It was a…a…an outing! I'm going home, Vanitas!"

He shrugged. Even though she was leaving now, he felt like something was accomplished. Smirking, Vanitas added, "I'll see you on Monday then, Blackbird."

"Stop calling me that!" She groaned before urging her brother to move forward. Xion shot Vanitas another dirty glare before she and Zexion finally disappeared down the street.

Pausing for a moment, Vanitas looked up at the twilit sky. He felt…lighter now that his feelings were out in the open. And the best thing was…Xion wasn't denying him or that kiss yet.

* * *

><p><strong>- 08 -<br>.: Etiquette :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

"Here." Fuu was basically asking Ventus to put the soil on a small shelf. The blond complied and, using the rest of his strength, carefully placed the bag of soil on the bottom of the shelf.

He let out a sigh of relief, hands on his knees in exhaustion. "That was…heavier than I thought…!" Wiping his brow, Ventus took a good look at his surroundings. They were obviously in a greenhouse. It was a little worn out and the windows were clouding up with dirt, but other than that, it was very quaint…and _very _empty. Double-checking, Ventus asked. "Uh, Fuu? Aren't there any other flowers here?"

The wine-eyed girl placed the sunflower on a cleared out table before shaking her head. Not bothering to spare Ventus a glance, she answered, "None."

"Will you add more?" Ventus asked, trying to be patient with Fuu's way of talking.

"…Perhaps," Fuu replied. With another pause, she turned around to fix her eyes on Ventus. "Bored…?"

_Who? Me? _Ventus blinked, not expecting such a question. Bored…of what? Of her? Thinking about it, being bored around Fuu was the furthest thing in his mind. She was so quiet…it was interesting. Ventus had read novels with enigmatic characters, but not once has he actually come across someone like that since…well, since Terra. However, Ventus revoked his statement. _Terra's just…weird…_

"Ventus?"

"Oh! Yeah?"

Fuu rolled her eyes and repeated, "Bored?"

Smiling, Ventus shook his head and walked up to her. "Nope! My afternoon's been pretty fun actually. It was a little frustrating earlier today, but spending time with you is really fun!" Realizing he had said too much (by the way Fuu was staring at him), Ventus corrected himself sheepishly while scratching the side of his face. "Uh, sorry. I rambled again…"

"No… Forgivable." The blond was a little surprised that he got _two _words out of the stoic girl in one sentence… Did that even equal a sentence? In any case, Ventus couldn't help but feel a little ecstatic!

Grinning, Ventus offered his palm. "Hey, you know what? Let's say you and I become friends, Fuu. It'll be fun!" A look of shock crossed her face before she settled her expression into its unreadable state. Ventus wasn't sure what to make of her reaction. He was just being polite…he _did _ask her first. "Um…Fuu? Do you not want to be friends?"

"…Can't." Fuu looked away.

The blond furrowed his eyebrows. "Why not?" Fuu frowned and started walking towards the door. Not wanting to let her escape that easily, Ventus called out. "Hey, Fuu! Why not? If this is because you hang out with Seifer, then—"

"Not that," she sharply remarked and glared at Ventus. The blond flinched before noticing Fuu's face drop. "Us…incompatible."

"Incompatible? How?"

Slowly, Fuu raised a hand over her heart; almost as if she was pointing to herself. She whispered before leaving, "Not Naminé…"

_Naminé? _Ventus thought hard. What did Naminé have to do with his wanting to be friends with Fuu?


	9. Surprise

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **This one is a little out there, but the plot is still moving. :) To be honest…I seem to like writing Ventus's side of this story more than Vanitas. xD Weird much? LOL Maybe it's because Ventus and Fuu is a lot more challenging to write. :) Just saying again, I haven't forgotten about the stories out there! I'll be sure to drop lots of reviews later today!

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

"You seem happy this morning," Sora commented as he stuffed a bagel in his mouth, noticing his older twin entering the kitchen.

Vanitas raised a questioning eyebrow as he opened the refrigerator and pulled out a juice box. With a stoic face, the raven-haired twin asked, "What makes you say that?"

The brunet rolled his eyes before taking another bite of his bagel. Speaking with a full mouth, he replied, "The air around you isn't gloomy."

"…You are disgusting, Sora," Vanitas replied after being witness to Sora's lack of manners.

"Sora!" their mother called out. "Riku's here!"

"Ah! I'm coming!" Sora yelled back and quickly scrambled to get his breakfast and schoolbag in order. Running out of the kitchen, he said. "See ya at school, Vanitas!"

"Right." Vanitas watched as Sora disappeared before sipping down on his juice box. Today was going to be an interesting day… Out of anything he could've mused on that morning, all Vanitas could think about was how to approach his little Blackbird.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

The warning bell rang once and Vanitas was casually walking down the hallway whereas every other student was rushing to get to class on time. Vanitas could care less; it wasn't like the teachers could do anything about him. He _was _one of the smartest kids in school despite the exterior he portrayed.

Looking around, Vanitas still didn't see any signs of Xion anywhere. Was she avoiding him? Vanitas didn't want to think she was _that _affected by how he acted on the weekend… That would suck since he was only going with the flow on their 'date'. Maybe for now he should pretend that _nothing _happened between them…that would get Xion's mind to work around _him, _right?

With a plan in mind, Vanitas rounded a corner to walk up the flight of stairs to his first class when he spotted Xion standing at the top of the second floor. If he wore his heart on his sleeve, the raven-haired male would've looked on with a flabbergasted expression.

Xion was smiling and talking happily with that kid who came over this morning…Riku. Xion's sapphire eyes shone with mirth and with every passing second she spent with Sora's best friend, Vanitas's blood continued to boil. After they had finished talking, Xion nodded to something Riku said and the silver-haired teen raised his hand to ruffle Xion's hair. She blushed sheepishly before Riku ascended the staircase to the third floor of the school.

Scoffing, Vanitas walked up the stairs with his head held high. "What was _that?" _

"Vanitas!" Xion squeaked in surprise. "When did you get here?"

"Not telling." He glared a little before walking past Xion. "Come on. We have history first thing."

"R-Right!" The girl gathered her things before following after him. Nervously, she asked. "Um…that thing with Riku…did you hear anything?"

Vanitas didn't, but what's there to hear when he could _see _what was happening? He answered without looking back, "No."

* * *

><p><strong>- 09 -<br>.: Surprise :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

Kairi stamped her foot as she reached over the lunch table towards Roxas to grab her math notebook. "Geez! What is it that Naminé _sees_ in you?"

Roxas smirked and answered, "Well, that's something only for me to know—Hey!"

Sora grinned after taking the notebook away and handing it back to Kairi after sitting down beside her. Kairi smiled widely. "Thank you, Sora!"

"My pleasure." Sora laughed and Roxas rolled his eyes.

As this was happening, Ventus was busy pushing the food on his plate around with a fork. He couldn't get his mind off of what Fuu said to him about being friends. Naminé? What did Naminé have to do with Fuu? A sigh escaped him and it wasn't missed by the people at the table.

"You look blue," Roxas said with a small frown.

"It's nothing," Ventus replied while pushing his food tray away. He smiled a little. "So what were we talking about?"

"Basically, anything that comes to mind." Kairi shrugged before she exclaimed. "Oh yeah! Have you guys heard that story about the 'Immortals of Harmony and Union'?"

The boys (sans Ventus) groaned with Sora voicing. "Um, Kairi? I _just_ got out of English class…I don't want to relive it again."

"Oh, please!" Kairi rolled her eyes. She faced Ventus when it appeared to her that the blond was the only one listening. "We may have learned it in class, but that doesn't mean it's _not _interesting!"

Ventus flinched a little, sensing that Kairi was hoping he was going to listen. Shrugging to himself, Ventus prompted, "So, uh, what's the story?"

The redhead beamed and happily continued, "Legend says that there were two people who lived on opposite ends of the world. They fell in love, but could not reach each other. The man—wanting to see his beloved—traveled the vastness of the world just for her. However, before they could met, the man died on his journey. With a broken heart, the woman mourned until she was at death's door. The gods—taking pity on them—granted them life together in the afterlife so that their love would live on in unity and harmony."

Ventus was at a loss of words. "That's—"

"So girly…" Roxas finished and Sora started to chuckle.

Kairi rolled her eyes and sighed. "Of course you _guys_ would think that. I think it's romantic!"

As the bantering continued on, Ventus looked across the cafeteria and his eyes widened. Standing up, Ventus grinned. "Fuu!" Everyone at the table stopped talking and shot Ventus confused glances. Fuu—who spared Ventus a surprised glance—rolled her eyes before walking away, causing Ventus to pouted again. She was being really difficult…

"…Ven?" Sora smirked. "Do you _like _Fuu?"

Taken by surprise, Ventus turned red and retorted, "No, I don't!"

"Aww, it's okay, Ven." Kairi smiled. "I think it's cute!"

"No! No!" Ventus argued back. While he tried to dismiss his friends' teasing, Ventus missed his older twin giving him a disapproving look.


	10. Defensiveness

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Sorry I'm updating so late guys. I was doing homework at the same time and I really suck at multitasking. |D And you'll have to excuse me for not updating my two other challenges in a while. I've had so much on my plate it's not funny. D: In any case, we get some new development, but whether if it's good or not, is up to you. ;) I have some twists for this story and I hope I can get them all down!

We've already reached the tenth chapter! So awesome! :D Thanks to everyone who read, subbed, favorited, and reviewed! _Mirae-no-sekai, xxHPxxGWxx, Fille des Reves, KHLegacy, Sakura088, Bond Of Flame08, Terra ForceXIII, beckster411, RSV, _and _RoseOfADifferentColor: _thanks for the kind words for the last ten chapters! :3

Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

"Vani…?"

"Don't call me that," Vanitas replied monotonously, not giving Xion the luxury of his full attention. He suddenly felt Xion clamping his wrist and he sighed. Turning around to face her, Vanitas was met with Xion's frown.

She sounded hurt. "What's gotten into you? Why are you avoiding me?"

"Avoiding you? I've been with you all day—"

"That's not what I _meant!" _Xion threw her hands in the air. "You've been with me, but not once have you been _acting _like yourself around me!" Matching his glare, she guessed. "Is this because of what happened with Riku this morning?"

"No," Vanitas immediately answered. He didn't want to think about Riku right now…it only made him angry.

Xion could sense his mood and she frowned again. "It is. Don't be so jealous, Vanitas. We were just talking!"

He smirked, giving the raven-haired girl a condescending smile. "Then what were you talking about? It seemed so secretive, you know? Care to share?"

"I…" Xion looked down. "I can't."

Vanitas scoffed. "Keeping secrets doesn't suit you, Xion. It makes you look like a _bad girl."_

She retorted, ignoring the looks people were throwing them as they walked home together. "Like you're one to talk! What about what _you _did on the weekend? You had feelings for me and you didn't tell me!"

Being cornered (for once), Vanitas unconsciously fell back on defense mechanisms he knew well. "I'm sorry… Feelings?"

Xion blinked before pressing on, "Y…Yeah! Don't tell me you forgot about the…the kiss and all that…"

He hummed for a moment before pretending as if something clicked. "Ah…_that. _You honestly didn't think I was serious, did you?"

"W-What?"

"Xion…" Vanitas smiled coldly. He lolled his head to the side and continued his assault. "You should know _not _to take me seriously when it comes to things like stupid crushes."

The hurt in her eyes was real… Vanitas overstepped his boundaries, but he couldn't take it back—it was too late. Her voice cracked. "You're a jerk, Vanitas. A _real _jerk!" Xion pushed past him and ran down the street by herself. Vanitas didn't bother to look after her and he decided to stay in his spot, brooding to himself. Nothing he ever did was right. Telling Xion his feelings placed tension on their befuddled friendship and getting mad at her for talking to a guy _other _than him made him snap too. Honestly…all he ever did was _ruin _things…

"Well, well. Looks like Poppet isn't very happy with you, huh? Tough luck, kiddo."

Vanitas remained firm in his place, but his eyes slowly trailed to his right and spotted a man standing beside him with a devilish grin. Narrowing his eyes, Vanitas ignored him and walked off.

The man chuckled. "What? It's obvious you're having girl troubles."

"Hey, old man, mind your _own _business."

"Old man? As if. I'm just trying to help." Vanitas stopped mid-step and looked over his shoulder with curious eyes. The man smirked. "That's more like it."

* * *

><p><strong>- 10 -<br>.: Defensiveness :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

_Let's see… _Ventus thought to himself as he headed down the street, _If I remember correctly, then it should be here… Oh! Found it! _He grinned to himself once he reached the flower shop where Fuu got her sunflower from. Clearing his throat, Ventus opened the door and walked inside.

"Welcome!" A familiar brunette woman smiled before she got a good look at Ventus. "Oh! It's you again."

"H-Hi." Ventus sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. Looking around, Ventus was well aware of all the brilliant colors of flowers from bright reds to sunshine yellows. Glancing back at the brunette, he struggled to ask. "Um…do you…do you know Fuu?"

She hummed with a teasing smile before answering, "I might know something about Fuu… Why?"

"W-Well, I—"

"Aerith." Ventus turned his attention to backroom door opening, noticing Fuu entering the store front…wearing a pink work apron. "Finished—" Apart from Aerith's muffled giggles, the two teenagers stood in silence and continued to stare at each other. Ventus couldn't help but blush. However, he flustered even harder when he realized Fuu was blushing too; something uncharacteristic to her (he thinks). Fuu cried out, breaking her tone of indifference. "VENTUS!"

"Y-Yes!" he replied; his voice hitting an octave higher as he stood straight.

"Oh my!" The brunette woman sighed happily as she tilted her head cutely. "This is something I thought I never would have seen! How cute!"

Fuu ignored her and glared at Ventus. "Here, why?"

The blond stammered for a moment, looking anywhere but Fuu's deadly gaze, "I-I was looking for you. I didn't get to talk to you at school, so I thought I would go looking…for…for you."

"Hmm…Fuu didn't tell me she had friends other than her 'posse'." Aerith looked up in thought before glancing at Ventus again. "Are you part of her posse?"

"Aerith," Fuu demanded. "Break?"

Within a heartbeat, the older woman smiled. "Of course! It was nice seeing you, Ventus."

"Y-You too, Miss…" he answered before Fuu rushed to his side after yanking off her…apron. She grabbed his wrist and dragged him behind her outside the shop. Ventus opened his mouth to say something when he felt a stinging sensation burning the top of his head. Reaching up, Ventus winced. "Ow! Did you just _hit_ me?"

Fuu placed her hands on her hips and glared. "Stalker?"

Ventus shook his head and rubbed it tenderly. "No! I just wanted to talk with you! I didn't know you worked here. Honest!"

"Idiot," she bitterly replied before crossing her arms impatiently. He couldn't help but pout at her. Ventus couldn't believe how violent she was acting, but then again, it couldn't have been because she was…embarrassed? Just the thought made him chuckle a little and Ventus had to cover his mouth before it would explode to full-blown laughter. Again, Fuu's cheeks tinted a light shade of pink. "Quiet."

Ventus couldn't help but find her reaction cute. He figured her hitting people was merely a defense mechanism. "Sorry, Fuu."


	11. Requisition

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **So we have even more development. Ahh! I can't wait until I hit later chapters! Vanitas is making a deal with something huh? Of course, I'm sure you guys know who it is. xD And Ven and Fuu…I _really _want to explore that story more because it'll be interesting. :D Vanitas too…but maybe not the way you would want it. ;-; LOL As I said in VCP, because I didn't update Friday, I'll try to do one on Monday evening. ;)

Thanks for reading and reviewing guys! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

Now, Vanitas wasn't _completely _cynical, but the moment this guy approached him, well…of course the raven-haired teen was going to be suspicious. Especially since said man brought up the red thread thing… Didn't Aqua say only _he _could see it (besides Aqua herself of course)?

Carefully watching the man—who was currently circling him—Vanitas narrowed his eyes. "And exactly _how _do you want to 'help' me? Laugh in my face and walk away? Tch, I don't need help."

"Oh, but I think you do." The man smirked. Throwing his arm around Vanitas's shoulder in a so-called 'friendly' gesture, the man started to speak secretly and continued pointing to the red string which was making itself visible. "You see that thing there on your little finger? _That's _what's causing you problems with the little lady."

Vanitas raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Really?"

"Yeah!" The man chuckled out loud. "Don't know which 'fortune teller' gave you that, but whatever they were feeding you was all lies."

"…The soulmate thing was a lie?" He felt kind of stupid for verbalizing that question, but maybe speaking out loud about some stupid string was for Vanitas's own sanity. However, he wasn't about to admit that he…_sort of_ believed in what Aqua told him about the 'Thread of Fate'.

The man shook his head, mocking, "Soulmate? As if! You really believe in something like that? Listen to _me, _kiddo, red strings aren't going to be tying you to your 'soulmate'. Why? Because it's _juvenile._ It just brings unhappiness and dread knowing _exactly _who you're going to end up with. Do you _really _wanna know about that when you're still so young?"

Vanitas lowered his gaze. If this stranger could read expressions, he'd know that Vanitas _was_ gullible enough to believe that. But…what the man said was true: Vanitas was better off _not _knowing Xion was supposedly his soulmate; prime example for why would be what happened moments ago. How was Xion supposed to like him after he said such horrible things to her?

With nothing else to lose, Vanitas indulged the stranger, "….What do I have to do?"

He missed the man's devilish grin. "Simple: Give me permission to unravel that thread from your finger."

"That's it?"

"That's _all." _Clearing his throat the man explained. "Once you get rid of that string, you won't be bound to that silly thing called 'destiny'. You'll be a free man, you can do whatever you want, and most of all, you're free to like whoever you want—doesn't have to be Poppet. Don't you like that option better?" When Vanitas continued to think it over, the man hummed. "C'mon—I don't have all day. Once I'm gone, that string is with you _forever_ and there's no doubt you'll be miserable than you already are."

Honestly, Vanitas wanted to sock this guy in the face for talking down to him, but…to be free from _destiny._

"Alright then."

The stranger chuckled. "You made _the _right decision!"

* * *

><p><strong>- 11 -<br>.: Requisition :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

After having a little (one-sided) talk during her break, Fuu had told him that she would be finishing her shift at the flower shop in an hour so Ventus decided to wait for her. Sitting outside the store on the street bench with milkshake in hand (he decided to buy one from the café across the street), the blond was strictly thinking about that string on his finger. He lifted his hand to the sky and followed the trail the string was making. In this case, the faded end of the string was travelling under the door of the flower shop. Ventus _still _didn't believe in what Terra had told him, but he would admit that Fuu was an interesting person he wouldn't mind making _friends _with.

Ventus hummed. "Fuu doesn't know about the string… I wonder what she'd do if she _did _know?"

Hearing the ring of the shop bell, the blond instinctively stood up and found the wine-eyed girl exiting with her schoolbag around her shoulder. She looked at him with her even eyes and blinked. "Here?"

"I told you I would wait, didn't I?" Ventus laughed. He stood beside her and smiled. "So! Would it be okay if I walk you home? It's getting late, you know."

She rolled her eyes, but Ventus spotted a small smirk touching her lips. "Fine."

"Cool!" He grinned.

As they started walking down the street (in silence of course), Ventus started thinking of topics to talk about. Fuu sure was mysterious… Looking at her, she was so focused and guarded. But why? What was it that Fuu could be so…untrusting of? People in general? Ventus kind of wanted to help her.

She noticed his staring and Fuu turned her head to look at him. "Problem?"

"Hey, Fuu?" Ventus started after his momentary pause. Determined, he declared. "Listen—if there's anything that bothers you, don't be afraid to tell me, okay? Whether you want me to be or not, I'm your friend, and as your friend, I'm going to worry about you when you're _not _happy, okay?" She stared at him in surprise and the blond smiled before walking again. "Just thought I'd let you know. That's all."

Ventus was able to take a few steps forward before his shirt was pulled at and it caused him to stop. Blinking, Ventus attempted to look over his shoulder, but Fuu requested, "Don't."

"O-Okay." He was slightly confused and his confusion only grew when he felt Fuu resting her forehead on his shoulder. Ventus couldn't help but blush a little. "Ah…Fuu?"

"Thank you," she whispered, the blond feeling her grasp his shirt a little tighter. "For that."

"No…No problem," Ventus replied. The wine-eyed girl really was surprising, but Ventus thought that maybe it was okay for her to be. Smiling, Ventus nodded to himself and replied with much more reassurance. "I told you I'd help, right?"

"…Yeah."

And without his realizing, the string on Fuu's pinky became more purple than blue.


	12. Altitude

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N:** Oooh, I wonder what's going on now. 83 Haha. I feel like I rushed both sides, but maybe that's just me. Can anyone guess where the pieces are falling yet? ^^ Remember: triangles. You gotta love them. 8D Vanitas and Ventus will definitely be crossing over soon! Also, just wanted to let you guys know I posted up a new challenge! Check it out if you're interested. :3

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

Nothing out of the ordinary happened for the past few days. Xion still wasn't talking to him…but Vanitas no longer had that string on his pinky finger anymore. It was…a little strange to say the least. He had gotten so used to it being on his finger that he felt empty, but of course, Vanitas would never admit that. Making his way to his locker, Vanitas rolled the dial to his lock before the small door opened and he began to put away his books.

"Vanitas?"

He was slightly startled when Xion's voice entered his ears. Remembering to keep his face straight (even though his heart was pounding like mad), the raven-haired male semi-closed his locker, spotting Xion standing beside him with her gaze on her shoes, looking nervously. Vanitas felt like poking her forehead for looking so…focused, but refrained from doing so. Instead, he spoke when he could no longer handle the silence, "Been a while."

"Y-Yeah." Xion finally lifted her gaze to his and he numbly wondered how he was able to go so long without seeing the blue of her eyes. Frowning a little and knitting her eyebrows together, Xion apologized. "About what happened before…I'm sorry I kinda ran off like that. I just—"

"Forget it." Vanitas closed his locker door shut before properly facing Xion. "There's no use crying over spilt milk… I was just in a bad mood that day."

Xion giggled a little, lightly teasing, "When are you not?"

"Don't get in over your head." Vanitas smirked, messing up the girl's hair. When Xion continued to laugh, Vanitas started to think that things were looking up. He and Xion were no longer on thin ice and that was surely a godsend. Maybe that string truly was the problem; it made him _think _too much. Then again…he still didn't know why some stranger _wanted _his red thread…

"Hey! I'm going to head for class now. I have english…" Xion groaned with a sigh.

Vanitas nodded, adjusting the strap on his shoulder. "I have biology so I can't walk you."

"That's fine! I'll just see you at lunch." Xion smiled, turning her heel and running away. "You're buying me flavored bread today!"

"Says who?" he shouted after her only to shake his head in amusement. Things really were going well. Letting himself smile, Vanitas turned around to walk the other way down the hallway when he felt something…_cold_ tingling the back of his neck.

Feeling uneasy, Vanitas looked over his shoulder and once again caught sight of Xion speaking happily with Riku. He urged himself to think of _facts _instead of jumping to conclusions this time: Xion and Riku had english together; Xion would never _lie _to him after they had just made up; Xion made friends with _everyone. _All of these reasons were valid and were _nothing _he had to get jealous about (again), but why did he feel so detached?

Xion and Riku talked from time to time…but not to this extent.

* * *

><p><strong>- 12 -<br>.: Altitude :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

It was weird how everyone focused their attention on them when they suddenly walked to school together one morning. Ventus was popular; what with his bubbly personality and abundant amount of friends. Fuu was quiet; known solely for being the only girl on the self-proclaimed disciplinary committee. They were riding on different altitudes and yet they enjoyed each other's company…

No one found logic in that.

"So what class do you have after history?" the blond asked after he and Fuu packed up their things from sitting in biology.

The girl with lilac hair paused before answering, "Gym."

"That'll be fun." Ventus laughed. "You get to spend time running laps today."

"Posse, skipping," Fuu replied and Ventus blinked in surprise.

"What? Fuu, you shouldn't—"

"Ven." Turning around, the blond caught sight of his older twin. Roxas looked calm and normal as could be, but Ventus wasn't fooled. He _knew _his twin brother was glancing at him with a disapproving look about his company. "Let's go. I don't wanna be late for math."

"Yeah, okay." Ventus scratched the side of his face before smiling at Fuu. "I'll see you later?"

Fuu stared at Roxas for a moment before glancing at Ventus with a nod. "Okay."

Waving one last time, Ventus ran up to Roxas's side and they began walking up the stairs to the second level of the school. Both twins were fairly quiet and Ventus was a little antsy as to _why _they were. Was Roxas that mad that he was talking with Fuu? No offense to his twin, but Ventus wasn't a _baby _anymore!

He meant to speak up, but Roxas beat him to the punch. "I thought you weren't going to talk to Fuu anymore?"

"I never said that!" Ventus furrowed his eyebrows. "I said I wasn't going to get mixed up in any trouble. There's nothing wrong with getting to know Fuu."

"Ventus, I'm just trying to protect you," Roxas explained with a sigh. It was rare of the older twin to actually use the younger blond's full name. "Fuu can turn on you in a snap. She's…"

"She's what? Different?" Ventus challenged with a frown. "Not everyone can be _Naminé _you know."

Roxas slapped his forehead, growling. "That's another thing: what _is_ Naminé to you?"

"W…What are you—?"

"Don't play dumb!" Roxas nearly shouted and curled a fist. People were glancing over, but Roxas wasn't about to stop. "I know you like her."

Ventus retorted, "What gives you the right to say that?"

"I'm her _boyfriend. _And you? You're my _brother. _You're not supposed to be looking at her _like that!"_

"Yeah? Well, you don't deserve her!"

A pause of silence ensued between the brothers and Ventus looked down before running away up the stairs. He didn't feel like going to class anymore—especially when he had to share it with _Roxas. _Ventus was just so…confused. Why did he like Naminé so much if his supposed 'soulmate' was Fuu? It didn't make any sense!


	13. Eyewitness

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Ah~ so confusing. LOL Poor Vanitas is left in the dark and Xion's not enlightening him. Oh well, he's _trying _not to get mad so much, but he's still mean. ;v; BTW, Xion's speaking pig latin if you guys get confused with her "code" speaking. XD And yay! Some more VenFuu though it is again subtle. xD Honestly, I don't think this is my best chapter (a little meh), but I tried. :P Updating this on my break. Don't expect me to do it again anytime soon. LOL

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

"…and then I have an assignment due next week because Rai was talking too much." Xion sighed, dropping her head on the table. She tugged on Vanitas's shirt. "I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm going to have to read a lot of books just to get things done."

Vanitas ignored her, lazily sipping down on his milkshake as they sat in a booth at McDuck's Ice Cream Parlor. "Nice try. I'm _not _going to sit in the library and help you 'read' books."

"…Darn." Xion suddenly sat up properly with a pout. Swinging her legs under the table, she admitted. "I thought that would work!"

"I'm not dumb, Xion." Vanitas rolled his eyes.

The girl narrowed her eyes before something in the distance caught her attention. Smiling, Xion stood up from her seat and waved. "Naminé!"

Blinking, Vanitas looked over his shoulder, watching as a petite blonde waved back. She was pretty cute, but in Vanitas's opinion, she looked too fragile for his taste; no backbone. The blonde walked over and smiled. "Xion! What are you doing here?"

"Ice cream and the like." Xion giggled, pointing to Vanitas. "This is my friend by the way. His name is Vanitas, but you can call him _Vani. _He likes that."

"Oh, haha," Vanitas sarcastically drawled on. "…Don't call me that."

Xion stuck her tongue out before continuing, "And Vanitas, this is Naminé—Roxas's girlfriend. Oh! Speaking of Roxas, Naminé, have you talked to him? I didn't get to see him today, but Axel told me he was in a really foul mood…"

The girl, Namine, furrowed her eyebrows. "Really? He didn't say anything… Then again, we didn't plan on seeing each other today."

Vanitas automatically drowned out the sound of the girls' talk. He _really _didn't see the point of the opposite sex talking about anything and _everything _that they could come up with. Maybe he should excuse himself; get away from being in-between such incessant chatter…

"…Riku said so—"

His selective hearing suddenly kicked in. "What about Riku?"

Xion blushed, waving a hand. "I-It's nothing!"

_Yeah right, _he asked again. "What. About. _Riku?"_

Naminé explained, oblivious to Vanitas's dark mood. "I'm just passing a message to Xion from Riku."

"N-Naminé!" Xion hinted, whispering loudly. "Ix-nay on the ecret-say!"

"Oh!" The blonde covered her mouth and Vanitas resisted the urge to roll his eyes. For girls…they were _really _bad at keeping secrets. Naminé cleared her throat. "A-Anyways, I should probably get going!"

The raven-haired girl nodded. "Okay. Bye!" After Naminé hastily left the parlor, Xion turned to Vanitas and immediately began. "It's nothing! It's nothing!"

"Whatever." Vanitas bit down on his straw. "What you do and who you do it with isn't any of my business."

Xion didn't seem convinced. "You're getting jealous again."

"Let's just drop it," Vanitas concluded, sliding his cup forward.

Awkward silence ensued before Xion mumbled, "…You want me to buy you another milkshake, don't you?"

"It's payment. I'm not exploding yet."

"…_Fine."_

* * *

><p><strong>- 013 -<br>.: Eyewitness :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

He watched as the clouds rolled by as he laid on his back with a solemn look. Ventus…he honestly didn't know why he was on the school roof. Maybe it was because he was closest to the sky here. Or maybe he wanted to disappear for a while… _Maybe _Ventus was planning to jump—

_I wouldn't do that! _Ventus scolded himself before letting out a frustrated growl. What was he going to do? Roxas _knew _he liked Naminé now. Was he going to tell her? So embarrassing…and almost heavy on the heart. Lying on his side and slightly curled into a ball, Ventus concentrated hard for the umpteenth time. Roxas was happy with Naminé… Why couldn't Ventus—as a twin _brother—_be happy for him? Ventus knew how content Roxas was whenever he was with the blonde artist, but why did it feel so _wrong?_ And then there was Roxas's undivided hostility towards Fuu—

"Ven."

"Huh?" The blond turned over, suddenly finding Fuu looking down at him. He jumped a little, putting a hand over his heart. "Oh gosh! Fuu, you scared me!"

"Class?" She ignored him in favor of her question.

Ventus sat up and looked away. "Yeah…I didn't want to go. Roxas and I…we got into a fight." He wasn't sure what compelled him to confess all this to Fuu, but…Ventus was pretty sure it was because Fuu wasn't one to spill out secrets; what with her cryptic way of speaking.

Fuu paused for a moment before guessing, "Naminé?"

"How did you…?" Ventus questioned in bewilderment.

She shrugged, sitting down beside him while looking at the horizon. Her short hair fluttered in the wind as she spoke, "Witness."

Looking down at his lap, Ventus blushed. "You…You saw, huh?" Her nod confirmed his assumptions and Ventus fell on his back again with another sigh. "How embarrassing…! But you're right; we kinda were fighting about Naminé. How did you know about that though, Fuu?"

"Naminé, special," Fuu answered and Ventus noticed a slight change in her tone. Looking at her back, Ventus was suddenly aware of how different Fuu really was. She was guarded all the time, but her vulnerability right now… Fuu was just like any other girl, huh?

Sitting up, Ventus started. "Maybe, but you are too! You're strong and smart and pretty and—"

…Oh crap, did he just call her _pretty? _Well, Fuu _was,_ but Ventus never wanted to say that out loud!

His face began to heat up and it had a reflective reaction on Fuu as she widened her eyes in complete surprise. Ventus tried to explained himself, "A-Anyways, everyone can't be the same, you know? You're different from Naminé; she's different from you…uh…get my drift?"

Fuu shook her head in amusement, but Ventus could hear the faintest trace of a giggle coming from her. She looked at him with her one eye and his heart stopped with just her small smile. "Ven, funny."

"Ah…yeah." He chuckled nervously. "Thanks, Fuu."

"No problem."


	14. Invisible

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **If anyone's read _Polar Reflections, _then you'll be getting a little surprise in Vanitas's story. |D And Ventus is started to let go. :3 Good boy. LOL Yup. Not much of a note tonight. XD Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

"Girls are pretty stupid, don't you think?" Vanitas asked as he stared up at his ceiling. With a sneer, he scoffed. "And Xion's probably the stupidest one of all. Yeah, I think so… Do you think so?" He sat up and looked towards the head of his bed.

The blue-grey cat eyed him before yawning with a silent mew. Stretching, the cat trotted over to Vanitas and nuzzled its head against Vanitas with a purr.

Sighing, Vanitas stroked the cat's fur and held it to his lap. "…I'm talking to a _cat."_

A knock on the door was heard, but the raven-haired teen didn't bother to address it. Vanitas soon heard his brother speaking cheerily, "Hey, Vanitas, dinner's ready!" Sora eventually peeked inside. "Vanitas?"

"Shut up," Vanitas grumbled under his breath. He fell back on his bed—the cat lying on his stomach—and replied. "I'm not hungry, Sora."

"…You know, you've been gloomier than usual these days." Sora scratched the back of his head. He walked over to his brother's side and attempted. "So, uh…wanna talk about it?"

Vanitas glared at him for a moment before thinking. Should he tell Sora about _any _of this? Would he even believe him? Vanitas stole another glance at his brother, noticing how Sora continued to stare at him with the look of a puppy. The raven-haired teenager sighed. _Maybe _telling Sora about _something _would be enough…but he was keeping the bits about the thread to himself.

Sitting up again, Vanitas petted his cat under its chin. "Have you ever gotten that feel of…_emptiness _when you give away something you think wasn't all that important?"

Sora hummed for a moment, taking a seat beside Vanitas and leaning against his palms. "Can't say for sure that I've felt something like that."

_I knew it, _Vanitas frowned. "Then nevermind—"

"Is this about Xion?" Sora suddenly asked and Vanitas's face automatically soured. The brunet shrugged. "What? I'm just asking."

Rolling his eyes, Vanitas admitted, "Fine. It's about Xion… Somehow, I feel as if we aren't as _close _as before."

Sora merely nodded his head, rubbing his chin. "I'll say. You came home in a pretty bad mood that day you guys went out for your anniversary dat—"

"It wasn't a _date," _Vanitas interrupted with a scowl before looking down in uncertainty. "…I kissed her."

"You _kissed _her?" Sora replied in disbelief. Shaking his head, he muttered. "That…makes sense." The twins sighed simultaneously before Sora gave his brother a small smile. "Maybe you should give Xion some time to think."

"Why would I need to do _that?" _Vanitas furrowed his eyebrows.

Sora laughed out loud, standing up and exiting the room. "Because Xion would've 'dumped' you already."

"…Get out of my room," Vanitas spat.

Sora waved as a joke. "Already on it."

Another scowl touched Vanitas's face before he looked down at his cat. It mewed at him and Vanitas couldn't help but smile a little. Maybe Sora had a point…he wasn't _completely _invisible to Xion.

* * *

><p><strong>- 14 -<br>.: Invisible :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

"See ya tomorrow, Ventus!"

"Bye!" Ventus grinned as he left through the sliding doors. He whistled a tune and adjusted the strap of his bag as he walked down the street. Work wasn't all that bad today. Sure there were a few angry customers and stacks of cans were knocked off the shelves (again), but Ventus wasn't all that annoyed by it. Strange…

"Hello, Ven." He stopped in his step and standing around the corner was a smiling Naminé. She tilted her head with a giggle. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Naminé!" Ventus returned the smile with one of his own. Grinning, he replied. "Yeah! How are you?"

"I'm alright," Naminé answered, leaning closer to whisper. "On a date with Roxas right now."

_Roxas… _When Ventus really thought about it, they haven't exactly made up yet. The blond still felt a little guilty; Roxas was just looking out for him after all. Scratching the back of his head, Ventus nervously asked. "How is Roxas?"

The female blonde hummed, placing her hands behind her back and looking up at the sky. She answered after a moment, "He's a bit quiet, but he feels a little sad that he hasn't been able to talk with you lately. I decided to take him out to try and cheer him up."

Ventus nodded at her every word. She was being real sweet, taking care of Roxas when _he _couldn't. Smiling a little, Ventus took Naminé's hand and squeezed it. "Thanks, Naminé… Roxas could really use someone to lean on."

"Yeah, but I'm sure he'd like to talk with his brother too."

"Then…when he comes back from his date, I'll talk to him." Ventus smiled. Sharing a small laugh, they both heard Roxas calling out for Naminé. Shrugging, Ventus happily added. "Looks like that's the cue."

The blonde female nodded before walking away. "I'll see you around, Ven."

"Bye." He watched as Naminé turned the corner. Curious, Ventus took a peek and saw his brother and Naminé speaking a little. When he saw Roxas smile after Naminé gave him a quick kiss to the cheek, Ventus couldn't help but smile too. Definitely…when Roxas got home later today, Ventus was going to set things right. If Naminé belonged with Roxas, then maybe they were soulmates too—

"Talk about mismatching flames."

"Huh?" Blinking his eyes, Ventus looked behind him and jumped in shock. "W-Who are you?"

Grinning, the stranger looked at Ventus with eyes of gold. He pointed to the blonde couple and spoke cryptically, "Somehow…I get the feeling that those two _aren't _supposed to be together. Get me drift?"

"Um…" Ventus furrowed his eyebrows with a suspicious look. Leaning away, he started. "Who are you again? …Sir?"

A laugh escaped the stranger and the blond was starting to feel just a little uncomfortable. Suddenly, an arm was around Ventus and the man nudged. "Kiddo…I'm about to help you make what's yours…_yours _again."

"Mine…again?"

"Sure! And all I need is that invisible thread of yours."


	15. Clock

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Okay, so this is definitely at different times. Ventus's story will be happening a little earlier than Vanitas, so commit that to memory (I didn't use that phrase. I totally didn't!). That'll probably be until next chapter and then Vanitas will be starting off everything again…if that makes sense. OTL I really like this chapter. :) Stranger man finally has a name, but I bet that wasn't so hard to figure out. XD Now the question is, who's Xion's father? O_o J/K. XD Hmm…but I wonder what's going to happen next? Luckily, you guys _might _find out tomorrow because I'm on holiday and that means…I CAN UPDATE MONDAY! :D

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

Vanitas let out a sigh of relief as he exited the bathroom and rubbed his hair with a towel. Passing by Sora's room, Vanitas was aware that his twin brother was already sleeping. A smirked crossed the raven-haired twin's face. Sora was such a dork, but he was a good dork even though Vanitas hardly said it.

Shrugging, Vanitas made his way to his own room and shut the door. He threw a shirt over his head before hearing his phone vibrating on top of his desk. His beloved cat—whom he affectionately named Chi—twitched at the sound before closing her eyes again and curling up against Vanitas pillow. Brushing through his hair with his fingers, Vanitas grabbed his phone, checked who the caller was, and answered with a smirk. "You're calling rather late. This better be important."

"_Why do you always answer like that?"_ Xion's annoyed tone asked with a huff. _"Every time I call you at this time of night, you're never asleep anyways. So why do you have to give me lip?"_

Vanitas chuckled, taking amusement from Xion's heated response. He sat down on his bed and replied, "Relax, Blackbird. I was just joking—like always. Are you taking things I say to heart now?"

"_No!" _she automatically cried out in defiance. There was a moment of silence before the raven-haired girl giggled and asked. _"How are you, Vanitas?"_

"I just finished taking a shower and it felt _good," _Vanitas informed, petting the top of Chi's head gently. "Chi's asleep too."

"_Aw! I wish I had a cat." _He could imagine Xion pouting right now. _"It's a wonder how you're so nice to a cat, but always so mean to me."_

"I'm not mean to you. I'm only mean when you bring it on yourself."

"…_I'm going to ignore that. Anyways! I just called because we're going somewhere tomorrow."_

Vanitas raised an eyebrow. "We are?"

"_Yup! So I expect you to be on time!" _Xion demanded.

"Where are we going?" Vanitas sighed, knowing she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Xion was about to reply when other voices began to distract her. She shouted something inaudible before talking with Vanitas. _"I'll have to tell you tomorrow. Dad's spazzing out again because Zexion contradicted his hypothesis. God, I hate having a scientist for a father."_

The raven-haired male grinned. "Too bad."

"_Yup. Anyways, talk with you tomorrow!"_

"Bye, Xion," Vanitas replied before turning off his phone, _Always so busy; that girl…_

Shrugging, Vanitas threw his phone on the desk before it vibrated again. He raised a confused eyebrow and took hold of his phone. Did Xion forget to say something? Looking at his screen, it was a text message…from an unknown number. Vanitas read:

"_I need to speak with you. Come outside."_

He frowned a little, _Who…?_

Getting up from his seat, Vanitas made his way to his window. His eyes widened in surprise when he realized Aqua was staring at him from ground level.

* * *

><p><strong>- 15 -<br>.: Clock :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

His eyes widened in surprise. "M-My string? Wait! How did you—?"

"Must I be asked the same thing over and over again?" the man drawled on, slightly annoyed. Pulling Ventus closer he continued. "Listen, I just have a knack for these kinds of things, alright? Heck, I helped out another healthy boy like you from spiraling to misery. Could do the same thing for you, but you're kinda slow."

Wait! There were other people with strings besides Ventus and Fuu? Well, that would make sense…but the blond had never seen anyone else! But why did he have to give up his string? He was already connected to Fuu and they were soulmates (as much as Ventus still didn't believe that…much). What did this guy mean making his…_his _again? Did Ventus lose something? But what?

"Clock's a tickin', kiddo," the man reminded and Ventus's blue eyes started darting everywhere, hoping to figure out an answer.

…Why did he suddenly feel so pressured?

"VEN!"

Flinching at the sound of his name being called in desperation, Ventus fixed his gaze forward and saw a familiar brunet running towards him…almost in a hurry with an angry gaze. Holy crap! Did Ventus piss off Terra the last time he saw him? Well…he kinda did, messing up Terra's plan with this 'Aqua' person. Stammering, Ventus called out. "T-Terra!"

The brunet seemed to ignore him in favor of glaring daggers at the stranger holding Ventus in a 'too-chummy' gesture. "Xigbar! I knew it was you, you son of a—"

"Hey, Terra." The man, Xigbar, chuckled. He removed himself from Ventus and slowly moved back. "Haven't seen you in a _millennia!_ How's that 'wifey' of yours? Aqua, right? Can't remember her name for the life of me."

Growling, a light started to envelop Terra's right hand as he rushed the stranger. Ventus's eyes widened when he saw a giant key materializing in Terra's hand as he attacked. Xigbar dodged it and summoned a portal to…how would Ventus know? It was just there!

Smirking, Xigbar escaped. "Sorry, kiddo. time's up. Maybe next time."

"Xigbar!" Terra cried out again. When he realized the man was gone, Terra cursed under his breath and gripped his…_key _tightly. Suddenly, his attention was on Ventus and he practically demanded. "What happened?"

Ventus couldn't help but shiver in fright. Could Terra get _this _mad? The blond looked down at his feet. "N-Nothing! I swear!"

Terra quickly took hold of his right hand and examined Ventus's pinky finger. Sighing in relief, Terra's anger seem to dissipate somewhat. "Good…it's still there."

"What's going on?" Ventus quickly questioned; Terra dismissing his key-weapon. "Who was that guy and how did he know about my thread?"

"It's not easy to explain, Ven." Terra ran a hand through his hair before looking at Ventus sternly. He made his way to depart as he warned. "Just promise me you'll do nothing that guy says. Xigbar's a cunning bastard. I have to find him."

"But, Terra—"

"_Promise _me, Ventus!"

"…O…Okay…"


	16. Pin

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Dun dun duuuun. :D LOL So it looks like that thread was a lot more valuable then Vanitas could have imagined. Wonder what he's going to do? And yeah! The (other) twins have made up! :) Bwahaha! I love how I'm sort of experimenting with triangles/rectangles here. I think it's awesome. :D Now then, please excuse me. I'm on a one-day holiday and I'm going to be using it to finish up some homework. Go me. |D

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

Since everyone was asleep, it was easy for Vanitas to sneak out of the house and out the front door. Putting on a jacket and his sneakers, the raven-haired teen made his way outside and to the blue-haired woman gazing up at the stars and moon. Aqua had her arms crossed over her chest and her short hair danced in the breeze.

Confused, Vanitas asked, "So what are _you _doing here?"

The only answer he received was silence on her part.

Biting back a remark, Vanitas repeated, "Hey, lady—"

"You are the biggest _idiot _I have ever _met!" _Aqua exploded, turning around with an otherwise heated glare. It reminded Vanitas of the time he saw her on his way to meet Xion for their anniversary outing…except Aqua was a _lot _angrier tonight. She stomped her way to him and the raven-haired teen started to nervously fidget. "Don't you know the saying 'don't talk to strangers'? What are they _teaching _you guys in school nowadays? If anything, I thought _you _wouldn't fall for some stupid trick!"

"Hold on!" Vanitas cried out in an attempt to salvage his pride and calm the blue-haired woman down. He furrowed his eyebrows. "What the _hell _are you talking about?"

She quickly grabbed his right hand and waved it in front of him. "Your _thread! _What did you do with it?"

"I…" Somehow, he knew his answer was only going to anger her further. "I…'gave' it away."

"I _knew _it!" Aqua sighed sharply and rubbed her forehead. After a moment she glanced at Vanitas again and scolded calmly. "Vanitas, why would you do that? Why would you give up your thread? It was specifically made for you and _only _you. You're not supposed to give it away."

"Oh, so I'm supposed to resign to my fate and _stick _with Xion?" Vanitas challenged. He looked away while putting his hands in his pockets and muttering. "Who needs some stupid string telling me that Xion will be my soulmate? It didn't seem to work when I kissed her."

"That's because the '_Ephemeral Shift' _wasn't reached!" Aqua retorted. Tightening a fist she glowered. "You just ruined your chances to _be _with Xion at all!"

He flinched. What? That wasn't true! They were still talking with each other and eventually, maybe Xion would finally see him as more than a friend. Narrowing his eyes, Vanitas shot back. "I'll get Xion to like me on my _own _terms!"

"Maybe, but it'll only be for a small passage of time," Aqua warned. She gazed at the stars and continued. "She'll eventually break it with you and will move on…with her _new _soulmate."

"W…What?" Vanitas shook his head. "But I thought I was—"

"You _were." _Aqua frowned sadly. "But you gave away your thread and whoever has it can tie _Xion _to another on a whim." Vanitas could only listen in silence. "Unless Terra and I catch the one who stole your thread, you're on pins and needles with Xion."

* * *

><p><strong>- 16 -<br>.: Pin :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

"_No matter what happens, Ven, don't ever let go of your thread." _Terra had told him with a sadness hiding within his cobalt blue eyes. _"I wouldn't know what to do if you were to lose your chance at happiness."_

Ventus sighed as he stared up at the ceiling while lying down on the couch. What did Terra mean? He could understand that Terra worried for him…but why? They didn't really know each other, and yet, the way the brunet spoke to him… It was almost as if Terra _did _know Ventus. And not just know him, it was like Terra had failed to protect him _once before._

The blond cried out in frustration and rubbed at his face. "So confusing!" Dropping his hands, Ventus was immediately met with his mirror image hovering above him and let out a yelp. "ROXAS!"

His twin cringed and covered his ears while moving back. "Ven, don't yell in other people's ears!"

"Then don't lean over like that!" Ventus retorted and sat up.

"Idiot!"

"Jerk!"

They glared at each other before breaking into laughter. It felt good laughing with Roxas again… Oh yeah! The younger blond had to apologize. Shaking his head, Ventus began, "Um…about what happened a few days ago, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that about you—you're more than deserving of Naminé."

Ventus felt Roxas taking a seat beside him before he ruffled Ventus's hair. Smiling, Roxas apologized, "I should say sorry too. It's just…sometimes I get jealous when you and Naminé are together. I mean sure, you and I have the same face, but somehow…it feels different when you two are together."

"Really?" Ventus blinked. "I never saw it that way at all."

"Yeah, well, it's in the past now." Roxas sighed, leaning back against the couch. Sparing Ventus a glance, he nervously asked. "You…_are_ done crushing on Naminé, right?"

Blushing, Ventus looked down at his lap and nodded a little. Technically…the blond really _wasn't, _but his attraction to Naminé wasn't as strong as before. Instead, Ventus was starting to move on and maybe it was thanks to Fuu. Ventus wouldn't see her as a rebound, but she did help lessen Naminé's influence over him. And maybe…he was starting to like her a little.

Feeling Roxas's hand on his crown again, Ventus looked up. Roxas laughed. "Sorry, Ven…for taking Naminé from you."

"How can you 'take' when she wasn't even dating me?" Ventus cheerily joked. They laughed again before Ventus had to know… It had been bugging him forever. "Hey, Roxas? I know this might be sensitive for you, but…why do you not like Fuu all that much?"

Roxas suddenly frowned, but Ventus could see how he struggled to keep his thoughts to a minimum. "Honestly, I never had an opinion of her before, but there's this…_resentment _towards her."

"Why?"

"I dunno." Roxas sighed. "Maybe it's because of what she did to Naminé last year."

Ventus's eyes widened. "What did Fuu do?"

Staring evenly, Roxas answered, "Fuu attacked Naminé."


	17. Verdict

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Huzzah! :D …Yeah, I have no idea why I said that. LOL in any case, I sorta liked this chapter. :3 And I don't know why, but I have this sudden urge to play FFXIII…and I can't. My brother already packed up the PS3 and it' at the other house. Noes… ;-; -pouting in a corner- Ahem! But in any case, I apologize that this hasn't been updated in a while. Lots of things going on IRL, but I won't bother you with that. :P

Thanks for reading and reviewing (seriously, guys! Thanks! :D)! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

_Vanitas furrowed his eyebrows. "If that's true, then what about me?"_

"_You'll be paired off with someone else—"_

"_But I don't _want _anyone else!" Vanitas snapped, his voice rising in volume. "I want Xion!"_

"_I know, Vanitas, but this isn't only hurting you." Aqua frowned sadly. "You just changed the fate for a chain of people."_

Just thinking about last night's conversation twisted his heart. Was he wrong to have given his thread to some guy he didn't know? His head said no, but his heart? He was a fricken moron! He was cheated; caught in a vulnerable state when _that_ guy appeared!

_Excuses. I really… _He lowered his gaze glumly. It was Vanitas's fault he got emotional over Xion's apparent 'cheating' when she really wasn't.

"…Vanitas?" Startled, the raven-haired teen raised his head. Xion stood before him—looking at him in concern—and asked. "You okay? You look really sad…"

Turning away, Vanitas lied, "It's nothing."

"Yeah…I'm _so_ going to believe that." Xion rolled her eyes before touching his cheek. The action caught Vanitas by surprise; Xion smiling encouragingly. "You don't say what's on your mind so…whatever's bothering you, I'll be by your side."

He stared at her before suddenly embracing Xion. Vanitas felt her freeze, but he ignored it. With one last squeeze, Vanitas quickly pulled away and walked forward without a word. Regaining his stoic demeanor, Vanitas questioned, "So where are we going?"

Xion didn't answer immediately, but soon enough, she began to lead again. "I-It's this way."

As he followed her, his eyes gazed at Xion's small back. She was so tiny to him, yet she shone the brightest when she smiled. What could've possessed Vanitas to cut strings with her? He really wanted to know…so he could strangle whatever it was that made him do it.

"Oh!" Xion suddenly stopped in her step. "Can you wait here?"

"…What?"

"I'll be quick! This, uh, has to do with where we're going."

"Why can't I just—"

"You can't!" Xion adamantly demanded. "You…can't. Please?"

Rolling his eyes, Vanitas grumbled. "Hurry up."

Smiling, Xion nodded and dashed down the street. "I'll be back!"

"Whatever…" Vanitas lamely mumbled.

He was probably by himself for no more than five minutes when Sora appeared with a redhead whose name escaped Vanitas. Sora greeted, "Hey! What're you doing here?"

"Waiting for Xion," Vanitas offered, not in the mood about keeping his activities secret. Looking between his twin and the redhead, he asked. "Are you on a date?"

Blushing, Sora flailed a hand; the female redhead embarrassingly looked away. "N-No! We're looking for Riku!"

When he thought about it…Sora was _always _with Riku. "Where is he?"

It was the redhead who answered, "Not sure. He told us to wait in our spot, but Sora…"

"Hey, he's hiding something and I wanna know what it is!" Sora defended.

_Hiding? Wait? That sounds like… _Tightening a fist, Vanitas suddenly walked off. He heard Sora calling him, but all Vanitas could think of was Xion.

* * *

><p><strong>- 17 -<br>.: Verdict :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

"And then Demyx ended up getting in trouble because he was singing…off-key." Naminé giggled.

Roxas smirked. "He can play pretty well, but _sing?_ No thanks."

Ventus sighed before glancing at Naminé. Fuu attacked her? That doesn't sound right! Maybe Roxas got his people mixed up! There was no way Fuu would attack Naminé… Her words were sometimes blunt, but Ventus _knew _Fuu wouldn't hurt someone for fun. Roxas was wrong!

Ventus heard Roxas ask, "So where are we going, Naminé?"

"You'll see." Naminé shrugged. "Riku told me to keep it a secret."

Roxas whined, giving her a puppy-dog face, "Your brother's always telling you to keep secrets."

Naminé responded, "He's a very private person."

As Roxas continued to probe his girlfriend, Ventus let out a laugh. Shaking his head, Ventus caught sight of a familiar person across the street, _Oh yeah! Aerith told me she was working today! _Grinning, Ventus quietly sneaked away and headed for the flower shop. Roxas and Naminé wouldn't mind…they were preoccupied with each other anyways.

Running across the street, Ventus watched as Fuu worked the display in front of the shop. "Guess the flowers need a little sunlight."

He saw her flinch before turning around to face him. Maybe it was his eyes playing tricks, but Ventus could've sworn he saw Fuu's wine-colored orbs looking at him brightly. "Ven."

"Hi!" He cheerfully smiled. "How are you?"

Her lips twitched into a small smile. "Okay. You?"

"I'm alright! Going to meet up with a few friends for…something." Ventus laughed, looking across the street. Roxas was still bothering Naminé and it made him snicker some more. Turning to face Fuu, he spoke. "They're always like that."

"Oh…" Her saddened tone wasn't missed as Fuu rearranged the pots of flowers, replying. "Going?"

He rubbed the back of his head. "I'd rather talk with you for a while first." Ventus mustered his brightest smile. "You're my friend too remember?"

A look of awe crossed Fuu's face and she looked down, almost pouting. "Too nice…"

Ventus teased, "You are too—letting _me _talk to you." Her cheeks turned pink and Ventus had to refrain from commenting on that too. He liked it when Fuu wasn't stoic; she was nice…and nothing like Roxas mentioned. He accidentally whispered. "You wouldn't hurt Naminé."

A semi-surprised look reached Fuu's eyes. "What?"

"Oh!" Ventus sheepishly grinned. "It's nothing. It's just something Roxas told me—about you attacking Naminé last year. There's no way that could've—" He suddenly stopped his thoughts when he heard the shattering of a flower pot hitting the ground. Ventus cried out, picking up the pieces. "Whoa! Fuu are you okay—?"

She responded with silence.

"…Fuu?" Looking up, Ventus saw something akin to horror on her face…and Ventus didn't like it. "What's wrong?"

As quick as it was there, it disappeared and Fuu became stone-faced again. "Leave."

"But—"

"_Leave," _Fuu demanded before walking into the shop.

"Fuu!" Ventus called only for said girl to disappear inside the shop; angered.


	18. Bid

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Well, it looks like VCP won't get updated today. Wanted to work on this one just because it missed a few updates last week. :P In any case, you guys are probably going to hate me for this chapter. Too much drama. |D LOL But hey, now the stories are _really _crossing over. :) And yes, for clarity's sake, Vanitas and Ventus have never met before though they know half of the same people. ;P

Thanks for reading and reviewing guys! I'll try to keep things as interesting as possible! ;)

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

His eyes scanned every shop down the street, but _still _no sign of Xion. Where the _hell _did she go?

"Vanitas!" He tried _so _hard to ignore the brunet, but Sora immediately pulled him back by grabbing his upper arm. Turning around, Vanitas met Sora's worried sky-blue eyes. "What's going on? Why'd you leave like that?"

The raven-haired twin replied as the redhead (Vanitas finally remembered her name as Kairi) came running towards them. "To look for Xion, idiot."

"You've been doing that a lot, huh?" Kairi blinked. When Vanitas shot her an incredulous look, the redhead shrugged. "What? Xion and I are friends; she tells me things like that."

_Great. Girl talk, _Vanitas inwardly groaned, pulling his arm away from Sora. "So what? It's not any of your business, _Redbird."_

"R-Redbird?" Kairi slowly glowered, but Sora expertly cut in.

"Aw come on, Vanitas! You don't have to take it out on Kairi just because you like Xion!"

…Okay, maybe 'expertly' wasn't the word. Sora immediately covered his mouth when he realized what he did and Kairi leaned towards Vanitas with a smug smile. "Ha! I knew it! And Xion thought I was joking!"

The death glare Vanitas wanted to direct at Sora was postponed for a moment as a dumbfound expression crossed his face. He stared blankly at Kairi—watching how she arched a curious eyebrow herself—before he was able to form words. "Wait… Xion thought I…_that?"_

Kairi rolled her eyes and punctuated slowly, "Yes. Xion talks about _you. _I tell her you _like _her. She ignores me, but I'm right! Is this getting to you at all, Vani?"

"First of all, shut up." Vanitas glared before asking the redhead a question despite demanding silence from her. "Second of all, if this is true, why did she _reject _me?"

"Reject you?" Kairi shook her head and crossed her arms, frowning a little. "Xion _never _rejected you. If anything, she's been crushing on you since she first enrolled at our school!"

Vanitas slapped his face. "Then why did she get so touchy when I kissed her?"

"Well, how would you feel when someone suddenly kisses you one day," Kairi rhetorically asked, narrowing her eyes, "and then that same person who kissed you is _mad_ at you the next day?"

"…Girls tell each other _everything?"_

"If you haven't gotten that through your head, Vanitas, I worry for you."

Sora interrupted his brother and Kairi's talk as he squinted his eyes. "Uh, guys?" He pointed to a shop across the street. "I see Xion."

Vanitas quickly glanced at the shop and noticed Xion's brilliant black hair immediately. She was holding a box of some sort and smiled as she exited the shop…with Riku. Vanitas stood frozen in place, watching as Xion and Riku talked and laughed together. The silver-haired teenager offered to carry the box for Xion and that was when Vanitas saw _it._

As Xion handed Riku the sizable white box, Vanitas was aware of a red thread connecting Xion to Riku.

* * *

><p><strong>- 18 -<br>.: Bid :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

Ventus was so distracted with his thoughts about Fuu that he nearly ran into a streetlamp. Luckily, Roxas pulled the younger twin to the side before he could hit another one. "Come on, Ven, stay sharp."

"Ah, sorry." Ventus scratched the back of his head. He hadn't exactly told Roxas or Naminé where he disappeared off to when they were 'playfully' arguing. "I guess I'm a little tired."

Roxas raised an eyebrow, but kept walking. "A little? Try _a lot. _You shouldn't be allowed to eat ice cream before bedtime anymore."

"Hey!" The younger blond shot back. "You eat more ice cream than I do _and _you always hog the sea salt ice cream to yourself!"

"At least I tolerant it better." Roxas smirked, causing Ventus and Naminé to pout and giggle respectively. Laughing as well, Roxas asked. "Feeling better?"

Ventus blinked before his cheeks tinted pink. Seriously, he was _really _lucky to have a brother like Roxas. Nodding, Ventus smiled a little. "Yeah…thanks."

"No problem." Roxas laughed again, leading the trio down the street with a joke. "Feels weird though… Usually _I'm _the moody one and _you're _the cheerful one."

Ventus chirped, though he was hiding how he truly felt, "It's not that weird…" They settled down in silence as they paced towards their destination and Ventus still couldn't bring himself out of pondering what he had done to set Fuu off. _Was _it because of what he said? Maybe…Ventus probably offended Fuu by mentioning her _hitting_ Naminé. He sighed quietly, _Guess I'll have to apologize later._

Suddenly, his shirt was tugged at and Ventus looked to his right to see Naminé smiling worriedly at him. She whispered softly, "Ven, are you sure you're okay?"

Great. _Now _he was worrying Naminé… Wait!

"Uh, Naminé?"

"Yes?" The female blonde tilted her head. "What is it?"

He _needed _to ask, but was it okay to assume Naminé _would_ answer it? It must've been a sensitive topic…_if _it ever happened that is. Ventus paused to glance over at Roxas and found that he was still leading them down the street. Nodding to himself, the blond began slowly, "Um… This might sound weird, but…you and Fuu—"

"VANITAS!"

Surprised at the shouting, all three blondes stopped in their tracks and noticed a kind of street fight was happening…among their friends. Ventus took notice of Sora and Kairi trying to pry a raven-haired teenager (who was the spitting image of Sora despite some notable differences) off of Riku as he defended himself; a box of cake lying destroyed on the pavement. Xion continued shouting in vain at the black-haired male and Naminé let out a gasp of her own. Roxas and Ventus automatically ran over to help break up the brawl.

"Give it back!" Ventus heard the raven-haired male hiss under his breath.

Riku pushed back against his attacker and snapped, "What are you _talking_ about?"

"My _string—"_

Ventus's eyes widened.

Eyes of gold were glaring at aquamarine ones. "—Hand it over!"


	19. Greed

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Oh my gosh, I am _so _sorry for not updating this! D: I'll try to make it up to you the best I can… I am getting to the good parts I believe, so hopefully I can updating continuously. Sorry again. :(  
>Anyways, I personally like this chapter because this is going to introduce the more 'fantasy' part of the story. If that doesn't come out in the later chapters or is very vague, I apologize for failing so hard. XD Still trying to figure out what exactly incorporates the fantasy genre besides dragons and magic. ;) Also, I apologize if Vanitas is a little OOC for flying off the handle. :|<p>

Thanks for reading, reviewing, and your patience guys! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

"Stop it!" Kairi cried.

Sora let out a grunt, pulling back on Vanitas's arm. "Snap out of it!"

None of their words could reach him; the raven-haired teen was much too focused with claiming what once was his. He couldn't believe it! Vanitas had a sinking feeling that something was wrong when Riku and Xion spent _too _much time together than usual and now he knew why…

"Come _on, _Vanitas!" Sora demanded when Vanitas leaned forward. "Quit it!"

"Give it _back!" _Vanitas threatened with a stony glare.

Riku only narrowed illuminated shades of aquamarine as he grappled with Vanitas's left fist with his right hand. "I don't _have _anything of yours, genius!"

_That's BS! _Vanitas inwardly barked; watching the red thread on Riku's pinky dancing in the air. _Give back Xion!_

Suddenly, there were more hands than Vanitas could fight against and he was pulled off of Riku completely. He swerved his head to glare at the bastards who dared interrupt him. Sora was obviously part of the equation along with Kairi and Vanitas noticed a pair of blond twins restraining him as well. One of those twins…they were staring at him _pitifully _and Vanitas's blood began to boil. He didn't _need _sympathy!

"Get off me!" Vanitas snarled and he struggled violently, watching Naminé aid the silver-haired teen.

Kairi let out a yelp when Vanitas jabbed his elbow near her face and Sora snapped back, all traces of his easy-going nature replaced with frustration, "Vanitas, calm the _hell _down!"

"Calm down? I'll give _you _a reason to calm down, you fu—"

_SLAP!_

The sound echoed loudly in the streets, but the pain resonated even stronger against his cheek. Vanitas snapped out of his earlier lunacy and slowly turned his head forward, but immediately regretted it. Staring down at him were angry sapphire eyes shimmering with water. Xion had a frown on her face and Vanitas could tell she was trying to control her shaking; her palm hanging in the air as a result from slapping the raven-haired male across the face. No one managed to utter any words, _except _her. However, Xion's voice was cold and distant.

"Happy _Birthday,_ Vanitas…" she dryly whispered, wiping her nose as a stray tear ran down her face. She turned her eyes to the cake on the ground and tightened a fist before running away as fast as she could.

_Birthday? _

What day was it? Was it really that time of year? How could he forget? Was that why…? Sure enough, when Vanitas looked down at the destroyed cake, he could barely make out the words 'birthday' along with the names 'Vanitas' and 'Sora.' The raven-haired teenager screwed his eyes shut. The facts were starting to fall together. Riku and Xion…they were being secretive because they were planning to surprise Sora and Vanitas himself with a birthday cake. Why didn't he see it? Was he that greedy for Xion's attention?

Now that he really thought about it, Vanitas didn't deserve Xion at all.

* * *

><p><strong>- 19 -<br>.: Greed :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

"Are you okay?" Naminé asked in worry as she helped Riku up.

The silver-haired teen wiped his mouth before nodding at his younger sister. "I'm fine." His eyes drifted to the cake and he sighed; clearly unhappy. "Sorry about the cake, Sora. It was _supposed _to be a surprise."

Sora shook his head and scratched his head. "It's okay… But what about, Xion?"

Ventus—who had been listening to the entire conversation—cautiously glanced over in the direction of Sora's twin. His back was facing everyone, but Ventus had a feeling he was tensing up from the question hinted at him. However, Vanitas decided to remain quiet and uncaring.

Another moment of silence passed on before Riku started to move. Ventus caught him shooting a pointed glare at Vanitas as he walked down the street after Xion. "I'll go get her."

"…Aren't _you _going to get her too?" Ventus heard Kairi ask.

Vanitas paused for a moment before walking down the opposite direction. "Why? She obviously doesn't need _me."_

"Vanitas!" Sora called out, but his cries went unanswered.

This was all too much now. This kind of scenario…and all because of a _thread. _Ventus looked down at his right hand, completely entranced with the small knot tied snuggly around his pinky. What did this mean? Did some thread really hold all the answers to one's fate? Then what about Vanitas if he isn't (or if he ever was) connected to Xion…? Tightening a fist, Ventus dashed past the others and ran after the raven-haired male without so much of an explanation.

"Hey!" Ventus shouted once he saw Vanitas's figure.

Vanitas looked back before scoffing and kept his pace forward. "What do _you _want?"

Ventus panted as he pulled Vanitas to a stop. Catching his breath, he pointed to Vanitas's right hand. "You…Y-You had a string too? A red one?"

Golden eyes widened slightly before becoming defensive again. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ventus—Sora's friend," the blond quickly introduced before cutting to the chase, "Were you approached by some tall guy? Brown, spiky hair—" Suddenly Ventus found himself slammed against an adjacent wall while Vanitas bunched Ventus's collar in his hand. "H-Hey!"

"You think you can approach me and ask questions?" Vanitas growled, his eyes narrowing. Ventus was suddenly aware of a black aura surrounding Vanitas and he gasped in shock. However, the raven-haired teen didn't seem to notice this as he continued to seethe. "So you have a string too… Is _that _what you're trying to tell me? Because I don't give a rat's ass!"

"Ah!" Ventus's eyes widened when the aura around Vanitas started transforming into a separate entities behind him. They were twitchy little creatures with eyes set in an angry expression. "W-What is that?" Confused, Vanitas finally turned around and caught sight of the abominations. Before either of them could react, the creatures charged to attack. The blond knew they were out-numbered and defenseless.

He screwed his eyes shut before hearing a female voice shout, "Thunder!"


	20. Reform

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **I…find this chapter entertainingly stupid. |D LOL I intended for this to be another serious chapter, but I think we need funnies. Plus, I was bound to write this kind of interaction between Terra and Aqua sometime in the future because their relationship is sort of important later on. :P Oh, and I know I should be getting on with the romances somehow, but it's getting there! …I hope. :D -shot-  
>Also, I apologize if I didn't make clear what the 'monsters' were. I thought it was pretty obvious with the "twitching" and "angry faces?" Guess that means I better up my descriptions. ._. Sorry! They get revealed this chapter though. :)<p>

A little more to the halfway point! :) Thanks for reading, alerting, favoriting, and reviewing guys! It means a lot! ^^ Thanks to these people for dropping reviews: _Terra ForceXIII, KHLegacy, RoseOfADifferentColor, Sakura088, beckster411, Mirae-no-sekai, Fille des Reves, xDarknessAngelx, BondOfFlame08, Scribbles I, Matty Brookes, _and_ an anonymous reviewer! _Go check out their stories too! Let's spread the love! XD

Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

A surge of lightning attacked the twitchy creatures and Vanitas had to shield his eyes from the blast. Opening them again, he quickly looked forward and watched as the creatures shattered to dust before noticing a familiar blue-haired figure walking up to him. Well, him and…and that blond kid. Aqua walked up to them without breaking her stance and in her right hand was a key-like weapon decorated in blues and silvers… Who in their right mind would attack a monster with a giant _key? _That was ridiculous!

"Vanitas…" she began.

The raven-haired teen, however, cut her off first, "What the hell was _that?"_

The blond picked himself off the ground after Vanitas dropped him, smoothed down his shirt, and looked at Aqua before gasping. "B-Behind you!"

Aqua quickly whirled around, but she wasn't fast enough to attack as a single monster dove from the air. Its attempt to attack Aqua was thwarted when a _second _key weapon smashed itself against the monster and killed it.

"You missed one," a brunet lightheartedly joked before he stood at full height beside Aqua. Vanitas looked over at the brunet's weapon. It was like Aqua's, except burlier. A smirk touched the brunet's lips. "Your intuition isn't as sharp anymore, Aqua."

Vanitas raised an eyebrow before he heard Aqua scoff. She crossed her arms with a scowl and turned away from the brunet. "If _that_ is your attempt to try and get me to talk to you again, it's not working."

…_Huh?_

Suddenly the brunet lost his cool and he childishly retorted, "Wait! You're still _mad _at me?"

The raven-haired teen shared a confused look with the blond before they both watched the…couple bicker some more.

"I'm not mad," Aqua answered.

The brunet glared. "Yes you are. Your posture says so."

Aqua slyly retorted, "Then you're over-reading my body language. In fact, just stop eyeing my _body_ since I'm not talking to you."

"…God dammit, your bluntness is _exactly _like _his—"_

"Those things that attacked you, Vanitas, are known as the Unversed," Aqua informed, completely ignoring the brunet as she turned her attention to Vanitas. He couldn't help but flinch in awkwardness as the brunet protested the blue-haired woman's actions. Aqua continued regardless. "They're the negative feelings people feel when they're in extreme turmoil. Normally, the Unversed are only linked and present when people who were 'marked,' such as you and Ventus over there, feel extreme emotions of negativity."

"So you mean…" the blond, Ventus, paraphrased, "people who have this red string are the only ones who can summon, er, accidentally call out the…Unversed?"

Aqua smiled. "That's right, Ventus. The Unversed are rarely called out, but…" Her eyes were suddenly on Vanitas and the raven-haired teen frowned.

Looking away, Vanitas sharply retorted, "Don't say it." He didn't have to know the answer of why he 'called' those things. It was because he lost his connection to Xion. But who knew such strong emotions towards her would create such ugly monsters that reflected him?

* * *

><p><strong>- 20 -<br>.: Reform :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

Ventus couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows to what the blue-haired woman just said. So there was a possibility that _he _could summon the Unversed too? What a scary thought… If Terra and this lady weren't here on time, Ventus and Vanitas would've been toast by now!

"Then can't you get Vanitas's string back? I don't know how he lost it, but can't you do something?" Ventus immediately asked.

"Oi." Vanitas grabbed the blond's attention and sneered. "Are you an idiot? If Aqua could do that, she would've done so by now."

He looked down—a small blush tinting his cheeks—and mumbled, "Still…how could…?"

Terra placed a comforting hand on Ventus's shoulder and gave the blond a reassuring smile. "It's a little complicated, Ven. It's easy to actually attach the thread between two people, but it's extremely difficult for normal people to unravel it… That is, of course, unless you made a 'deal' with the wrong person."

"That guy?" Ventus questioned, remembering the man with the unnerving gaze.

"Xigbar." Terra narrowed his eyes slightly and sighed. "Honestly, it shouldn't be that easy for him to unravel strings or even interact with the Marked…had _someone_ been doing their job." Ventus noticed how Terra's dark blue eyes were glaring at the blue-haired woman.

She frowned in offense. _"My _job? So you're saying _I'm _the reason Vanitas lost his thread? If I remember correctly, _you _were at fault last year!"

"Um…guys?" Ventus spoke up, only to be ignored.

Terra kept his cool, but his tone was next to biting. "Well gee, Aqua, I'm not the one who stands for _'harmony', _remember? Vanitas was sending out warning signals. Where were _you _when you had to mediate that?"

"Just because you stand for _'union'_ doesn't mean you get it easy," Aqua reprimanded. "This is a _two-person_ job,Terra; not a competition for dominancy!"

"Then stop making it sound like it is and talk to me, woman!"

"HEY!" Ventus got between the two adults, pushing them away from each other and throwing glances at both of them. If _they _were attached by a red string, the Unversed would be pouring out in unimaginable quantities! "Stop fighting! Aren't you guys supposed to be helping Vanitas find his string?"

Vanitas stood off to the side staring blankly. He ran a hand threw his raven hair before crossing his arms and deadpanned, "I'd rather they _not. _Not after _that."_

Ventus groaned and slapped his face with both hands. _Okay, so Terra and Aqua are fighting; Vanitas is prone to summoning Unversed; I still need to apologize to Fuu… GAH! _The blond shouted towards the sky, "This is so complicated!"

Aqua flinched and Terra blinked before responding, "Hey, Ven—"

"Don't 'hey, Ven' me!" the blond scolded. "Stop fighting!"

"Why? I'm getting kicks just watching this!" A voice laughed and everyone quickly turned their sights towards the figure clapping his hands some feet away.

Terra took a step forward and summoned his weapon. "Xigbar!"

Xigbar grinned. "What? You missed me?"


	21. Mandatory

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **I am _so _sorry that I'm falling behind schedule again. The last few weeks have been hectic. =_=; Won't bore you with the details, but I will say, I'm not abandoning anything I write guys. I have this thing where I have to finish everything I do otherwise I'll feel like crap. :P  
>Anyways! More detaildevelopment this chapter. :) I'll get on with our couples next chapter. I miss writing Fuu and her one-liners. ;-; Oh, and I just realized how much I like Vanitas and Ventus interacting. It's so awesome (even though Vanitas wanted to kill Ventus in-game. OTL)!

Thanks for reading and reviewing guys and gals! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

"You!" Vanitas growled, already feeling his angry raising again. "You're the bastard who took my string!"

"Took? As if. You _gave it up _remember?" Xigbar reminded before jumping backwards to avoid Terra's attack. He landed a distance away and grinned. "Hey, I'm just telling it as it is!"

Terra pointed at Xigbar in a serious fashion. "It's because of _you _Aqua's not talking to me, you ass! Get your butt back to the Realm Between before I hurl you there myself!"

"T-That's not the _point,_ Terra!" Aqua fumed; cheeks red. She instructed Terra with a stamp of her foot. "Just go after him already!"

Xigbar laughed again, wiping a tear away for emphasis. "Aw man, you guys are good for a laugh."

_This is fricken ridiculous, _Vanitas gritted his teeth before crying out again, "I don't give a _crap _about what goes on between you three—I just want my stupid string back!"

"Well here's the painful truth, Spikes." Xigbar hummed, his face set in a steady expression as he replied. "…You're not getting it back _and _I doubt you will since I tied up loose ends with that string of yours already. I'm pretty sure you saw my handiwork…right?" The raven-haired teen felt the blackness surrounding him again, but before he could actually summon any Unversed, Vanitas was tackled to the ground and snapped out of his stupor.

"Wait!" Ugh, it was that blond kid again. "You can't get mad! You'll summon the Unversed again!"

"That was the fricken _point!" _Vanitas growled. "…Get off me."

"Ha! The Unversed sure bring back memories." Xigbar sighed and summoned a dark portal…_thing _as he reminisced. "Except, you know, they actually _did_ damage to someone."

Without another word, Terra ran after Xigbar through the portal; the brunet's voice echoing, "Like _hell _I'm going to let you get away!"

"Terra!" Ventus cried out once the portal disappeared. He and Vanitas stood up on their feet again and the raven-haired teen heard Ventus worry. "He's…"

"It's okay." Aqua reassured, dismissing her key-weapon before tucking a lock of hair behind her right ear. "Terra will be fine. He'll come back."

Vanitas raised an eyebrow. He was irritated with how calm Aqua could be when her 'boy toy' just leaped to unknown territories. Huh—she must be really been mad at the guy… Vanitas was liking Aqua already. He crossed his arms and asked, "So what? Not even worried for that knucklehead?"

"That's not it," Aqua explained, holding a hand over her heart. She was smiling in a way that left a bad taste in Vanitas's mouth. "I don't have to worry because I _know _Terra will come back. He always does…"

…Scratch that—Vanitas thought she was airheaded _and _delirious.

"Anyways, for now, I'm going to warn you both," Aqua explained; suddenly serious. "It's mandatory for Terra and I to go after Xigbar; that's part of our job." She looked at Vanitas expectantly. _"Your _job is to make sure the Unversed never come out again."

* * *

><p><strong>- 21 -<br>.: Mandatory :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

"Isn't that a little easier said than done?" Ventus asked nervously, _Vanitas looks like one of those people who'd just get mad easily…_

Aqua nodded in agreement. "Yes. I would've made something to nullify the summoning of Unversed, but unfortunately, all my magic goes to pinpointing Xigbar's location… He's a slippery one."

"Then forget it," Vanitas piped up in a mumbled whisper. Ventus saw him tightened a fist as he turned away. "I don't care anymore; I'm letting Xion go."

"But!" Ventus ran around Vanitas to stand in front of him. He pursed his lips and tightly held Vanitas's shoulders. "But what about you? That isn't fair!"

Vanitas rolled his eyes, brooding. _"Life _isn't fair, idiot."

He didn't know why, but the blond suddenly felt…_anger _bubbling inside him. Without warning, Ventus smacked the back of Vanitas's head…_hard. _Aqua gasped in surprise; the raven-haired teen looking more shocked than mad.

Ventus had enough! _Too _many people were being moody to his liking and a lot of them were giving up so easily! Ventus hated it! Placing hands on his hips, Ventus sternly annotated, "I'm sick and tired of hearing the same thing all the time! Vanitas, we don't know each other, but Sora's looking _way_ cooler than you right now!"

"You wanna fight—?" Vanitas snarled, only for Ventus to cut him off again.

"That's why!" Ventus offered his hand with a smile. "I'm going to _help_ you. That's what friends are for, right?"

The raven-haired male stared in shock before frowning. Darting his eyes away, Vanitas muttered, "You really are stupid. Why do you want to help me?"

"Because you remind me of someone I really care about," Ventus admitted; unsure of why he was blushing beet red. He looked at his feet and stammered. "Y-You keep to yourself…and there's this sad air around you…um…"

"…Do _not _tell me that 'Figbar' paired me up with this _doofus _for laughs." Vanitas leaned away in disgust.

Ventus's eyes widened. "What? _No! _I'm paired with a girl already! _A girl!"_

"Right."

"It's true!"

Aqua's laughter broke their argument and she smiled in amusement. Glancing at each of them, she ruffled their hair; much to the protest of the boys. "I think you get along nicely. Alright! Ventus, I'm leaving Vanitas in your care until this mayhem with Xigbar disappears."

Before Vanitas could retort, Ventus cried out, "Right! I gotcha!"

Nodding, Aqua glanced at Vanitas again and reassured, "Don't worry, Vanitas. As long as Xion and Riku don't reach the Ephemeral Shift, there's still hope to turn things around."

"…What's an 'Ephemeral Shift?'" Vanitas questioned.

"It's the final color change a thread goes through. Blue to purple to red… If your partner's thread matches _your _red, you're going to be together until the next life—an unbreakable bond," Aqua explained, looking up at the setting sun. "That's why…you shouldn't give up yet."

_Give up… _Ventus looked down at his string, Fuu's face flashing in mind, _Me too…I'm not going to give up on her._


	22. Neglect

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **As I said in VCP, yay for random updates! I mean really. :P Not much to say for this chapter other than I finally got to write Fuu again! Yay! ;v; Never thought I'd miss writing her when she doesn't say a lot. Oh well; I guess actions _do _speak louder than words. XD On the other hand, Vanitas… Well, he's trying. :P

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

Picking out his books before slamming his locker shut, Vanitas made sure to look left and right for any instances of blonde hair—particularly spiky, dirty blonde hair accompanied by annoying sky-blue eyes. Ventus—dubbed the 'Idiot' by Vanitas himself—wouldn't give him a moment's rest. The raven-haired male _knew _Ventus was only keeping his word to Aqua, but seriously, he didn't have to play nanny for every fricken moment of every fricken hour!

_Oh crap! _Vanitas flinched when he saw Ventus walking down the hallway. Groaning, Vanitas quickly ran down the hallway and pressed his back against the wall at the next turn. If Ventus didn't leave him alone, Vanitas _was _going to summon Unversed and it wasn't because of _Xion! _Peeking around the corner, Vanitas's amber orbs widened in surprise.

"So…have you talked to Vanitas yet?" 'Ventus' apparently asked.

Xion frowned as she walked to the blond's right, hugging her books to her chest tightly. "Don't even mention that name. I'm still mad at him for what he did."

"Wow, Xion," a redhead remarked in dull surprise, walking on the blond's left. "I didn't think you were capable of getting angry over one person."

"Well, when it comes to Vanitas, he rubs off on me!" Xion huffed.

His lips twitched in amusement before remembering that wasn't a compliment she was making of him. When Xion's male companions started arguing with one another, Vanitas took this opportunity to 'kidnap' Xion from her friends. She let out a familiar squeak when he yanked her to the side and Vanitas trapped the raven-haired girl against the wall when no one was looking.

She stared in shock before it quickly dissolved into fury. "What do _you _what?"

"Are you really going to give me _attitude _when I just want to talk?" Vanitas asked, though his tone naturally mirrored hers. "Xion—"

"If you're going to apologize for anything, you should be apologizing to _Riku _since—you know—you physical _harmed _him."

Vanitas refrained from snapping at her smartass comment. "I. Wasn't. _Finished. _Anyways…Xion, I know I've been acting out of place these last few days—"

She raised an eyebrow. "You're _just _realizing this now?"

"_Stop that,"_ he shot back, sharply exhaling through his nose. "I have a reason why I'm like that, okay?"

"Then what it is?" Xion challenged, matching his glare. Placing a hand on her hip, she guessed. "You're going to tell me you _like _me again?"

"Yes."

His quick response caught her off-guard. "L…Liar! I'm not falling for that!"

"I'm not lying this time," Vanitas deadpanned, "and I know you like me too… Kairi told me."

Xion looked away with a faint blush before biting down on her bottom lip. Unsure of how to react, she dipped her head and Vanitas slowly raised a hand to touch her; but all too quickly did Xion walk away in doubt. "Maybe I did, but I _don't_ anymore…"

Vanitas watched her disappear and he tightened a fist. "Guess…I'm _still _on probation."

* * *

><p><strong>- 22 -<br>.: Neglect :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

He let out a yawn as he waited for class to end. Why was school so _long? _Trying to keep his eyes open, Ventus ultimately failed when he heard his name being called out in class. By instinct, the blond shot up from his seat. "W-What?"

A few of his classmates snickered whereas his teacher in world history, Mr. Eraqus, raised an eyebrow in question. "Ventus, can you recite to me Hollow Bastion's rise from its detrimental state?"

"…Uh…"

"…Who lead the restoration of what we now know as 'Radiant Garden?'"

As if by luck, the home bell rang and Ventus refrained from letting out a sigh of relief. Grinning nervously, Ventus quickly replied, "Uh, I would answer that, sir, but the bell just rang. Darn!"

He could literally see it in Mr. Eraqus's face that he was not amused. "Alright. Class, remember to study for your midterm that is next week…"

As Mr. Eraqus continued with his reminders, Ventus quickly stuffed his books in his bag and zipped out the door. He had to catch Vanitas before he disappeared out of his sight again. God knows the raven-haired teen was quick to escape him even in school! As he ran down the flight of stairs and turned a corner to get outside, Ventus caught sight of short, lavender hair going into the courtyard of the school.

Vanitas or Fuu… Who was more important?

…_Fuu!_

He licked his lips before running after her. What would he say? Ventus _still _didn't know what to say! When he reached the nearby corner, the blond took a peek and noticed Fuu staring up at the cherry blossom tree. It was reminiscent to the first time Ventus met Fuu too: she was _still_ looking up at the pinwheel that was stuck there.

A smile lit up his face and Ventus slowly approached Fuu. Standing beside her—and inevitably catching her attention—Ventus began, "Seriously, is that pinwheel yours? I can get it for you if you want." As expected, Fuu turned around and started walking away. Ventus quickly grabbed her wrist and pleaded. "Aww, Fuu, please? I'm sorry about what I said before. I _know _you didn't attack Naminé—there's no way I could ever believe that! It was stupid of me to bring it up and I'm really, really sorry!"

Her wine-colored eyes flickered to his for a moment before giving Ventus her full attention.

Enthused, Ventus continued while squeezing her hand. "You're…special to me, Fuu. Roxas is crazy—"

She suddenly slipped her hand away and took a step back, her eyes down. "Annoying."

"F…Fuu?" Ventus gulped in worry. "So I can't…?"

"No," she immediately answered and gazed at him. Ventus was stunned in realizing Fuu betrayed her stoicism. "N…Naminé…"

"Fuu, you didn't—"

"What I did to Naminé… It's true."

He was speechless for two reasons: One was because Fuu just spoke a whole sentence and two… Ventus flabbergasted; voice cracking, "You attacked…_Naminé?"_

"…Sorry," she curtly apologized before rushing past him.


	23. Threat

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Ack! I feel like I rushed this one; specifically Ventus's part. =/ I'm not really happy with it, but I do like Vanitas's part if only because Sora's there. xD LOL Oh and as for the 'peacock' thing I mentioned in the first part, yeah, I found out peacock's are the stereotypical bird for "vanity" and "pride." Fits Vanitas to a tee considering his name partly means "vanity." |D -shot-  
>As for Ventus's part, for clarification's sake, I see Seifer's posse like a small family. I wasn't dropping hints that Seifer may have a thing for Fuu; instead, I like to think he and Rai are acting like "brothers" to Fuu because, you know, they're close. ;P And yes, I did make Fuu say a whole sentence last chapter. Why? Because she totally can. :) She hasn't done so in Kingdom Hearts, but she did in FF8; a whole speech at that. xD<p>

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

"Hey, Vanitas!" Sora jumped down the last flight of stairs and landed beside Vanitas, throwing his arm around the older twin's shoulder and questioned. "You've been spacey lately. Talk to me."

"…Huh?" Vanitas turned to look at Sora; not quite caring that Sora was invading his personal space. In fact, he acted as if he only _just_ noticed Sora's presence. "Oh, it's you."

"…Vanitas, you're scaring me…" Sora confessed before removing himself. He let out a whistle and scratched the back of his head. "I know I say it all the time, but Xion _really_ has an impact on you." Rolling his eyes, Vanitas continued his walking pace out the door. Sora was striding confidently beside him and Vanitas merely remained silent to Sora's rambling. "You must really like her… Have you tried talking to her again? About before?"

"Talking to her is like talking to a fricken _peacock,"_ Vanitas dully replied. "I can say all I want, but she's too proud to listen to me." The raven-haired twin couldn't help but slap Sora over the head when he started laughing. It must've been the analogy Vanitas used; he should've gone for a more _ugly_ bird instead of a peacock, except Xion was far from ugly to him. Ugh. When did he get so sentimental?

"Hey, is that Ven?" The brunet piped up.

Vanitas instantly stiffened. "Where?"

The brunet pointed out into the distance just as the blond ran past them a distance away. "Over there. He's chasing after Fuu… Vanitas, why are you hiding behind me?"

_Fuu…?_ He ignored Sora's probing to fancy his own thoughts. Didn't Ventus say something about being paired off with a girl already? Out of curiosity, Vanitas excused himself, "I'll be home later." Ignoring Sora's call, Vanitas picked up his jog and turned a corner just in time to see Ventus pulling a girl to a halt. Ventus inaudibly spoke and the girl refrained from looking at him. The raven-haired teen tilted his head in confusion, _Ventus is having problems?_

Suddenly, the blond was thrown to the ground and Vanitas blinked out of his reverie. Two guys—much bigger than Ventus—stood protectively in front of the lilac-haired girl. Even though she was mostly stoic, Vanitas wasn't fooled by the look in her eyes: she didn't want Ventus to get hurt. Her dark-haired defender suddenly picked up Ventus by the collar like it was nothing and the supposed leader of the posse started to threaten Ventus.

Vanitas rolled his eyes. Didn't Ventus have a _spine?_ Why was he doing nothing?

_I guess I have to watch _his _back too. What a pain,_ Vanitas sighed unimpressed and made his way towards the group. Suddenly he stopped with a devious—yet _dangerous—_thought. Humming to himself, Vanitas looked down at his shadow, observing how it grew and materialized. Tucking his hands in his pockets, Vanitas watched the shadows make their way to Ventus and the others.

Who said the Unversed had to be a _bad_ thing?

* * *

><p><strong>- 23 -<br>.: Threat :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

"Fuu!" Ventus desperately cried out as he chased after the lilac-haired girl. "Please wait! Just talk to me!"

"Go _away!" _she hissed through her teeth and continued running.

Even though her words were cold, Ventus knew that she was _hurting. _Why was she putting herself through so much? Was it because she…attacked Naminé? No! Fuu must've had a good reason for doing…what she did. And Ventus was going to help her through it!

Knowing he was faster, Ventus bridged the gap between them and pulled Fuu to a stop. Ventus panted—watching as Fuu struggled to pull her wrist back—but the blond only shook his head. "Enough, Fuu… Please?"

"Mad?" Fuu asked, turning her eyes away. "Of course…"

"Don't say that!" Ventus retorted, holding Fuu by the shoulders. "Fuu, I'm not mad at you! I just—"

"Invadin' personal space, ya know?" a voice boomed behind Ventus. He was quickly yanked away from Fuu and Ventus landed on the ground with a 'thud.' Shaking his head, the blond looked up to see Rai cracking his knuckles; Seifer patting down on Fuu's shoulder as reassurance before throwing a nasty glare in Ventus's direction.

"Take him." Seifer snapped his fingers and Rai complied by picking Ventus up by the collar.

"Hey! What gives?"

"I'll tell you, _loser, _what you did wrong," Seifer spat as he circled behind Ventus. "You've been stalking Fuu for a while now. I don't exactly _like _how you've been annoying her. Get it?"

"Seifer…" Fuu whispered weakly.

He held up his hand. "It's okay, Fuu, I got this."

"Wait! You have it all wrong!" Ventus attempted, only for Rai to hold him up higher. "Hey!"

"I'm only going to say this once." Seifer narrowed his eyes. "Stay away from Fuu."

Why was everyone trying to drive them apart? Ventus was starting to feeling overwhelmed now! He just wanted to _understand _everything! He wanted to understand Fuu…let her know that he _wasn't _going to turn against her! Not when he's—

"Yo, Seifer, w-what's _that?"_

"Hell should I know?"

Ventus blinked, finding himself falling unceremoniously to the ground. The blond looked up and his eyes widened. Unversed! Did…Did he summon them? Looking around some more, Ventus was made aware of Vanitas standing calmly a few feet away; his shadow stretched and contorted.

_He didn't…! _Ventus growled, turning to Seifer and his gang. "Hurry up and get out of here!"

The green-eyed blond narrowed his eyes. "I don't take orders from you—"

"Seifer," Fuu interrupted. Everyone looked at her stony expression and she instructed without opposition. "Escape."

"…Tch." Seifer nodded; he and Rai dashing away. Fuu stayed behind for a moment, locking eyes with Ventus. She gave him a slightly worried look before following after Seifer and Rai.

Ventus sighed before turning around and narrowing his eyes at the Unversed before glancing at Vanitas. "What have you _done?"_

Vanitas retorted with a smirk, the Unversed fading back into his shadow. "I think I found a way to control them."


	24. Luck

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Has anyone ever played the game called "Corpse Party" for the PSP? Scariest thing to play when you're alone in a dark room with your headphones on and the volume is high… At least to me. x'D  
>In any case, I almost didn't know what to do with this chapter. I feel like I'm being a little slow with this story again. I'll have to pick it up in the next few chapters. ~w~ And yes, having Vanitas and Ventus at odds is just awesomely hilarious at times. LOL<p>

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

As expected, Vanitas was getting an earful after _intentionally_ summoning the Unversed. Rolling his eyes, the raven-haired teenager crossed his arms and dryly responded to Ventus's preaching, "Are you done?"

"What? That's all you can say? Vanitas—!"

"Shut up." Vanitas shoved Ventus away from him and walked away.

Ventus chased after him. "This is serious! You're supposed to be _suppressing_ the Unversed, not summoning them!"

Huffing under his breath, Vanitas glared at Ventus. "You seem to forget who saved your miserable butt."

"I-I didn't need saving!" Ventus weakly retorted. Looking away, the blond tried to explain his reasons, but Vanitas knew he was only hurting himself. "Seifer and Rai were just misunderstanding me, that's all! If I just—"

Rubbing at his forehead, the raven-haired teen cut in, "Talking in a situation like that _never _works, idiot. That's some chick you got paired off with—"

"Don't talk about Fuu that way," Ventus coldly shot back. His reaction was something Vanitas wasn't expecting. Ventus was _way_ too nice for his own good to pull of such a dangerous face. He wouldn't admit it, but Vanitas felt something akin to a nervous sweat. The blond looked away and grumbled. "She's bothered by something and I just wanna know what it is…"

"…You worry too much," Vanitas replied. Actually, when he really thought about it, that girl was kind of strange. Getting Ventus's attention, Vanitas asked. "Is that girl always stoic?"

Ventus blinked; not expecting the question. Pondering, he answered, "Not…all the time. There are instances where she breaks away from looking so monotone… But it's very rare when she does."

"Right." Vanitas clicked his tongue and confessed. "She didn't seem surprised when I almost summoned the Unversed, Ventus."

"…What?"

"I'm saying that she might know about them…from a _prior_ encounter."

"That's impossible!" Ventus countered in disbelief. He started shaking Vanitas by the shoulders. "I-If that was true, then how does she know about the Unversed? Terra never told me anything!"

It took all of Vanitas's willpower not to smack Ventus senseless. "Why are you asking _me?" _Without waiting, Vanitas pried away from Ventus's hold and continued his walk. "Just consider yourself lucky that she didn't freak out at the appearance of Unversed." When the blond didn't reply, the raven-haired teen thought the discussion was over.

…How wrong he was.

"C'mon!" Ventus suddenly grabbed Vanitas by the wrist and dragged him off. Vanitas stumbled a little at the hasty movement and glared at the blond's back, but Ventus either remained oblivious or simply ignored him. "I have to get to the bottom of this!"

"And you're bringing me why?"

"So I can keep an eye on you. I'm not letting you summon the Unversed again, Vanitas."

Vanitas blankly stared before sighing. "You are _irritating._ Do you know that?" When Ventus remained silent, the raven-haired teen changed the topic. "So where are we going?"

"The Academy of Arts."

Vanitas furrowed his eyebrows. "Why?"

Ventus's expression darkened. "I need to talk with Naminé."

* * *

><p><strong>- 24 -<br>.: Luck :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

"I'm going to say it again: this is stupid."

"At least I'm _trying _to get answers!"

"Yeah." Vanitas rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "For something that has _nothing _to do with me."

The blond shot the uncaring teen a dirty look before looking inside the school courtyard as they waited by the huge gates. Naminé's school was nothing short of impressive, but it was the aesthetic exterior that appealed to the fact that the school itself was for people in the arts. Naminé used to attend his school with everyone else…until she transferred last year.

"Ven?"

Snapping to attention, the blond found Naminé tilting her head at him curiously. Ventus blushed a little before shaking his head. Now was _not_ the time to act gaga over a girl he didn't have feelings for anymore!

…Wait, what?

"Hey, Yellowbird," Vanitas piped up and ignored the look of surprise on Naminé's face. He got down to the point. "What's your relationship to that Fuu girl?"

"_Vanitas!" _Ventus's eyes widened. "Be subtle!"

The raven-haired teen scoffed and looked away. "I've had about enough of your fricken mood swings. Either you ask her or I'm going to summon the Unver—"

"AHHH!" Covering Vanitas's mouth and struggling to keep him from exploding, Ventus nervously asked. "Is there a place where we can talk? I-In private?"

Naminé tucked a lock of hair behind her ear; eyeing the boys carefully. "We can go to my house? My parents and Riku won't be home until later."

"Riku? Hell no—"

"Great!" Ventus cut in with a grin. "Lead the way!"

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

"I'm surprised, Ven. You always visit with Roxas," Naminé commented as she opened her front door.

Ventus scratched the back of his head. "Well, you know, he's busy with Struggle practice and all that."

The female blonde smiled. "True."

As they entered the house, Naminé led them to the living room and she excused herself to get drinks. Left alone, Ventus looked around before glancing at Vanitas. He was busy…sulking to himself on the couch. Ventus rolled his eyes. "It's not that bad—"

"I am sitting in the house of that _pretty boy,"_ Vanitas snapped. Crossing his arms childishly, he pouted. "This better be worth it."

"Just be glad it's only Naminé here," Ventus groaned. Noticing Naminé enter the room again, he smiled and thanked her for the drinks. Naminé giggled in response and the blond thought this was the perfect opportunity. "So, Naminé, uh… Can I…ask you about something?"

"About Fuu?" Just hearing her name made Ventus's cheek tint pink. Smiling, Naminé took a sip of her orange juice and murmured. "So you _do _like her…"

Glancing at his lap, Ventus mumbled, "Well…"

"It's okay, Ven," Naminé reassured before humming. "It's strange though. I always assumed you had a crush on _me."_

"E-Eh?" The male blond's entire face went red and Vanitas snorted in laughter.

"You're lucky, Ventus. She figured it out." Vanitas smirked.

"S…Shut up!"


	25. Brilliant

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Halfway through the challenge! Huzzah! :D At this point, I'm hoping to get to some of the action-y (not really) stuff since now I'll have to be conscious with what I write since I only have 25 chapters left. xD Hopefully I can get _everything _I want to say into this. What a challenge! :'D  
>In any case, you might like what you read here. Unless…you've already figured this was going to happen. |D Damn… Oh well! I'm not done yet! LOL<p>

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R! :3

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><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

They've been stuck in silence for almost fifteen minutes and Vanitas was starting to get fed up. Gripping his upper arm in annoyance, Vanitas snapped, "Are you guys going to talk or what?"

Ventus frowned at Vanitas; Naminé turning her gaze away and to her lap. "Give her a moment. It's not easy talking about something like…that."

"…Well, _you _guys can beat around the bush. Me? I'm not staying." Vanitas got up from the couch, already retorting when Ventus made to protest. "I'll hang around here. Don't get so antsy."

After exiting the living room, Vanitas navigated his way to the kitchen. He didn't really care if he was caught scouring the fridge or whatever; Vanitas was _hungry. _It was never a good idea to leave him as such because then he acted really grumpy. Digging through the shelves in the refrigerator, Vanitas ended up 'stealing' a chocolate milk bottle before sitting at the island in the middle of the kitchen. Knowing Ventus and that blonde chick, things weren't going to get settled anytime soon.

He sighed, playing with the cap of his bottle. "I'm going to die of boredom here…" Vanitas wished he could contact Aqua and ask how the search for 'Patchman' was going. The raven-haired teen would personally hunt him down, but he didn't know where to start.

Looking at his empty right pinky finger, Vanitas started thinking about Xion_—again. _Maybe if he had been patient, none of this would be happening and he could _almost _be happy just having Xion by his side. He would see her smile everyday to brighten up his crappy day; hear her laughter when he said something sarcastic; and most of all, Vanitas could physical touch her. Not in the creepy, perverted way—though his mind had strayed there more than once—but just contact in general. Messing up her hair, Xion clinging to his arm… He was being sentimental again, but Vanitas missed it _so _much. He dropped his head on the island's surface and sighed. Closing his eyes, the raven-haired teen cursed the day he ever walked into Aqua's blue tent.

_Huh? _Sitting up straight, Vanitas was vaguely aware of the twitchy, red-eyed blue creature scavenging on the tiled kitchen floor. His eyes widened and he jumped out of his seat. "Crap!"

The Unversed caught sight of Vanitas's movement and sank into the kitchen floor, slinking to the other side of the room. Vanitas gritted his teeth and tried to catch it. Thinking about Xion probably triggered an Unversed summoning. God! Even when Blackbird wasn't around, she _still _caused problems for him!

"Come _here!"_ He jumped after the blue Unversed, but it slipped out of his hold and found its way outside. As Vanitas's eyes widened in alarm, he could've sworn the Unversed laughed at him before escaping onto the streets of the neighborhood while Vanitas was left inside a house looking dumbfounded.

…Brilliant. Ventus was going to give him an earful. Aqua? Vanitas didn't even wanna know…

* * *

><p><strong>- 25 -<br>.: Brilliant :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

"Sorry about Vanitas." Ventus hung his head apologetically. "I'm still getting used to his mood swings too."

"Not at all." Naminé giggled before looking at her half-empty cup. "What happened between Fuu and I… You really want to know?"

From her answer, it was obvious the subject was still tender, but Naminé was the only one Ventus could turn to. Nodding, Ventus persuaded, "Please understand, Naminé… I hate to bring up bad memories, but Fuu won't talk to me. Roxas could tell me something, but he's biased against Fuu and I don't know why."

The female blonde perked up to the mention of her boyfriend. "Roxas? He's _still_ holding a grudge?"

"Uh, yeah?" Furrowing his eyebrows, Ventus questioned. "You mean…you're _not_ mad at her?"

"Of course not! What happened that day wasn't her fault!" Naminé trailed off while biting her bottom lip. "Fuu _did _scare me when she approached me forcefully, but I realized after I transferred that she was only trying to get something back from me."

_Something…back? _That sounded exactly like what happened between Vanitas and Riku! Ventus quickly leaned forward on the table—ignoring Naminé's startled expression—and interrogated, "Did Fuu say anything?"

"U-Um…she mentioned something about 'fixing things'."

Ventus urged, "Anything else?"

Naminé searched the depths of her memories before answering in uncertainty, "These weird…_monsters _appeared out of her shadow."

_The Unversed! _Vanitas was right then; Fuu _did _have an experience with the Unversed beforehand! But…didn't that mean she was _aware _of the strings of Fate and _who _she was connected to?

"Ven." Naminé took hold of his hand, snapping the blond male out of his daze. "You're scaring me…"

"Sorry, Naminé." He mustered a smile for her sake. He needed a little more information. "What happened after that?"

The artist frowned in concern, but continued, "We were attacked by those creatures before a man with a key-weapon saved us. Roxas came too, but he came _after _the monsters disappeared and that was when…"

"When he believed…Fuu attacked you," Ventus completed.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Roxas scared me that day. He was angry with Fuu no matter how many times I've told him it wasn't her fault; Roxas just wouldn't forgive her. Since then, we've avoided the subject altogether."

"No wonder he was against my befriending her…" Some things were starting to make sense, yet Ventus was still confused about one thing: why did Fuu act guilty around _him?_

"Vanitas?"

Snapping out of his trance, the male blond looked up to see Vanitas bolting for the door. "Where are you going?"

"Something leaked out of my shadow and I 'have to get it back,'" Vanitas strongly hinted and ran outside.

Realizing the indication, Ventus scrambled after him. "Stupid Vanitas!"

Naminé stood up in alarm. "W-What?"

"Nothing!" Ventus informed. "Just stay here okay? I'll bring Vanitas back."

"…You don't think Fuu's at fault right?" Naminé suddenly asked.

Ventus flinched before relaxing with a smile. "Definitely! And I'm going to prove it to her."

Naminé slowly beamed. "Be careful."


	26. Booklet

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Ah! I'm so sorry for missing updates! I'll get a move on once I finish all my exams (my last one is on Wednesday)! DX Okay! I'm going to hope I don't fail on what I'm trying to do, but we'll see. :3 I'll understand if you guys get confused; I'll explain everything soon! xD Oh! And Terra's going to be using a command style; can you guess which one? ;D

Thanks for reading and reviewing guys! :) Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

The Unversed twitched on top of the brick fence before jumping on the next one after Vanitas threw a rock at it. The raven-haired teen scoffed; Ventus glaring at him. "Stop that. You'll just make it run away again!"

"Then what's _your _brilliant plan?" Vanitas retorted, hating how the Unversed was suddenly paying attention to their bickering. That was another reason why Vanitas was throwing rocks at it: he was hoping that just _maybe_ the Unversed could get concussions. If they did, Vanitas was going to give it one hell of a concussion before tearing it to shreds for making him run around like an idiot. "Stupid thing…I should just summon a bunch more to kill it."

Ventus's eyes widened. "You can't do that! You wanna summon a _horde_ when you can't even control _one?"_

Vanitas—out of irritation—grabbed the blond by the collar and Ventus grabbed Vanitas's collar in return. They both leered at each other angrily, but neither of them were willing to pull away; probably out of stubbornness. He wouldn't admit it, but the raven-haired teen was impressed with Ventus's spunk. "You sound like a self-help booklet. What do you suggest we do then? Throw it a cookie and hope it crawls back into my shadow?"

Glaring once before breaking free of Vanitas's hold, the blond put distance between them—throwing nervous glances at the unmoving Unversed. "Look, it was negative emotions in the first place that called upon the Unversed. If either of us act any more aggressive, we'll just call more…"

"…What?"

"Don't you think," Ventus pointed out, "that it's _reacting _to something?"

Stealing a look at the Unversed himself, Vanitas couldn't help but agree. The Unversed was twitchy as always, but it was swerving its head in every which direction. Why was it looking for something? Suddenly, the Unversed perked up and started moving again at a hasty speed.

The boys immediately chased after it, Ventus questioning, "Where is it going?"

Around the corner, they heard someone speak, "I'm actually on my way to Naminé's house right now."

Vanitas's eyes widened in horror, _No…! _Picking up his pace, the raven-haired teen quickly rounded the corner and smacked right into Xion. She let out a yelp, dropping her phone on the pavement while Vanitas gripped her upper arm. "Blackbird!"

"_You?" _Xion hissed with a sneer. Pulling her arm away, she snapped. "What are _you _doing here?"

"Xion!" Ventus interrupted out of breath. "You weren't attacked were you?"

"By _what?" _she asked in frustration. Backing away, Xion huffed in annoyance. "What's going on? Why are you guys together?" As Ventus tried to explain the situation, Vanitas frantically looked around and gritted his teeth. That Unversed had to be here somewhere… Was it looking for Xion? Like hell he would let it anywhere near her! Xion gasped. "What is that?"

Snapping to attention, Vanitas glared at the Unversed only to receive a surprise. The blond growled. "The Unversed!"

Vanitas coldly added, "Yeah…with a new _color scheme."_

* * *

><p><strong>- 26 -<br>.: Booklet :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

_How is it changing color? _Ventus nervously eyed the Unversed as it shifted colors from blue to a dark purple. The trio of teenagers moved back cautiously as the Unversed began to act up. _I wish Aqua gave us a booklet on these things…_

Suddenly the Unversed charged forward, causing all three teenagers to react. Xion let out a small yelp when Vanitas grabbed her around the waist and jumped to the side. They rolled on the pavement; Vanitas hovering on top of her. "…I like this position a _lot."_

"…Get _off _me!" Xion shoved the raven-haired male away and hastily sat up. "What's happening? What is that thing?" The Unversed sank into the ground and aimed for Vanitas and Xion. When it came out of the ground to attack the raven-haired girl, Vanitas knocked it away with a nearby stick.

The blond let out a sigh of relief before quickly reviewing, _What's going on? Why is it trying to attack Xion?_

"Vanitas, watch out!" Xion gasped.

"Tch!" Vanitas attempted to attack again only to fail. He ended up on the ground; the Unversed sitting on top of him. He struggled under the Unversed. "Take Xion and run!"

_But…! _

The blond was torn. He wanted to help Vanitas, but the raven-haired male was right; Xion was being _targeted!_ Tightening a fist, Ventus quickly grabbed Xion's wrist and fled. The raven-haired female resisted after they rounded down another block. "Ven, Vanitas—!"

"He'll be fine—"

"No!" Xion ripped her wrist away and Ventus watched her surprise as she stepped away. Was Xion…_crying_ over Vanitas? "He's an idiot! He won't stop until he's banged up!"

_Xion… _Ventus felt for her; he really did, but she had to get to safety. Wouldn't Vanitas like to know that she still cared for him. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and reassured, "I know, Xion, but Vanitas is doing this to protect you—"

"And that's what scares me!" Xion covered her face just as Ventus noticed her shadow elongating. "Even after everything I said, why do so much for _me?"_

_She's summoning…Unversed! _Ventus froze when the creatures jumped out of the shadows. "Xion!"

"Huh?" She slowly turned around as the horde of Unversed charged.

The blond stumbled towards her, but was stopped when a hand gripped his arm. In a mixture of panic and confusion, Ventus looked over his shoulder and met wine-colored orbs. _"Fuu?" _Her face never broke out of its stoic expression as her eyes darted to where Xion stood. Ventus quickly followed her line of vision and gawked. "Terra!"

The newly summoned Unversed disintegrated like dust; Terra with his weapon in hand while standing protectively in front of Xion. Ventus quickly approached them—Fuu on his heels—and blurted, "Terra! I-It's Vanitas, he—"

"I know." Terra gave Ventus a tired smile before heading in Vanitas's direction. "Take care of the girls, Ven!"

"Wait!" As much as he trusted the brunet…why was his left arm engulfed in black tendrils?


	27. Prototype

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Hi guys! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! :)  
>Since Terra gets along so well with Ventus, it's only right that the opposite with Vanitas happens. :P -shot- Nah, I kid; I just like it when they throw insults at each other I guess. xD LOL! And yup! In this story, Unversed have the ability to evolve into other Unversed. Process goes like this: normal Unversed color; Final Mix Unversed color; and then a brand new Unversed. :3 Just stating in case it gets confusing when you read. In case of Vanitas's Unversed, it went from a Flood to a Bruiser with the help from Xion in between. ;P And Ven is just too cute. Even Fuu defends him from all the questions. Q_Q<p>

Anyways, I guess that's it. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

"Get _off_ me, you stupid thing!" Vanitas growled as he tried to push off the Unversed sitting on his stomach. It tried to stab him with its pointy limbs, but Vanitas pushed back with the stick he deemed as a weapon. The raven-haired teen commanded. "I summoned you, so I can _kill_ you too! Off!"

The now completely dark purple Unversed mindlessly stabbed at him again before freezing. Vanitas took this opportunity to scramble away from the Unversed and prepared to kick it upside the head when he stared at it. The Unversed…it was like a statue; never moving. Confused, Vanitas poked it with his stick and suddenly the Unversed basked in a bright light.

"Tch!" He covered his eyes from the bright light and opened them again when Vanitas thought it was safe to look. Slowly lowering his arm, Vanitas trained his eyes on the Unversed once more only to step back in bewilderment. _"What?"_ The Unversed wasn't a tiny little thing anymore; it _evolved_ into a bigger, meatier creature with a dark blue color scheme. Not only that, but it looked ready to attack Vanitas again. "…You damned thing!" Vanitas childishly pointed out before rolling to the side when the Unversed tried to body-slam him. "Who said you could change forms?"

"Well, stop getting mad and the evolution will stop." A voice scolded before a shadow quickly rounded behind the Unversed and attacked ferociously with close combat. Vanitas watched as the figure attacked with his glowing left hand smothered in darkness and his key-weapon held in his right. The Unversed couldn't withstand the attack and inevitably faded away. Standing up at full height, Terra turned around and glared at Vanitas. "In all my years of doing this job, you are the first to _continuously_ summon Unversed to the point that one would evolve. Are you _experimenting_ or something?"

The raven-haired teen made a face. "Aqua never said they could do that or why."

"It's because you _and_ that black-haired girl welled up with so much negative emotion! That Unversed fed off that and it changed!" Terra retorted. Sighing, he muttered in disappointment. "Kids these days…so over-dramatic about relationships." Vanitas was about to retort with a nasty remark when his eyes fell on Terra's still clouded left arm. Black tendrils danced around it; almost as if they were eating Terra's skin. Noticing his stare, the brunet passed his weapon into his blackened hand and used his good hand to ruffle Vanitas's hair. The teen protested as Terra walked past him stoically. "It's rude to stare."

"Hard _not _to when you're walking around like a _giant freak."_ He glowered angrily. Seriously, Vanitas did not like physical contact all that much; and with his _hair._

Terra shot him a dirty look. "Brat—"

Suddenly, the ground shook violently and the brunet hastily looked in one direction. Vanitas interrogated, "Hey! What's happening? Answer!"

"Xigbar…" Terra informed darkly. "He's probably found Ventus and the girls by now."

_Girls?_ Vanitas narrowed his eyes. _Xion!_

* * *

><p><strong>- 27 -<br>.: Prototype :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

Ventus slapped his cheeks before declaring in determination, "Okay! We don't have anything to worry about now that Terra's gone to help Vanitas!"

Xion fidgeted in her spot; Fuu standing expressionlessly beside her. "Who was that guy? Can he…really stop that monster from hurting Vanitas?"

Ventus smiled reassuringly. "I trust Terra with my life. He's saved me and Vanitas once before."

"Before?" Xion flabbergasted.

…Darn! He ran his mouth again! If Ventus were to worry Xion any further, there was a possibility that Unversed might appear! Vanitas having that 'privilege' was enough. Just as he was going to make up some excuse, Fuu spoke up, "Ventus, delusional."

Ventus gawked and Xion stared dumbfounded at the wine-eyed girl. "Delusional…?"

"Hey, Fuu—!"

She silenced him by raising a hand as she continued talking, "Terra, guardian."

"Guardian…?" Xion withdrew from conversation thoughtfully and Ventus carefully eyed her before dragging his blue gaze to Fuu's face.

Her attention was focused on the raven-haired female prior to glancing in Ventus's direction. He flinched in surprise, but not once did he pull his gaze away even after his cheeks warmed up. It was amazing how much of a hold Fuu had on him. He _still_ didn't believe in soulmate's by a red string, but maybe…he started to really like Fuu of his own conviction.

_Tell her…! _Shaking his head, Ventus tightened a fist and purposely walked towards her. When he suddenly held her shoulders, even Fuu wasn't able to keep the astonishment off her face. "F…F-Fuu, I…"

She merely raised a confused eyebrow whereas Xion blushed as if a drama was unfolding before her. Well gee! If _Xion_ could tell where he was going with his feelings, why couldn't _Fuu_ just to make the situation less embarrassing?

Closing his eyes, the blond confessed, "I—!"

"Well isn't she a sight for sore eyes?"

"What?" Ventus turned his head and spotted Xigbar approaching them slowly; that smirk present on his face as always while he chuckled lowly in sick amusement. Scoffing, Ventus made to stand protectively in front of Fuu and Xion. He _had_ made a promise to Vanitas and Terra. "Xigbar! You—" Ventus felt someone tightly gripping his arm. Looking behind his shoulder, his eyes widened when he saw the look of fear on Fuu's already pale face; it was as if she saw a ghost. Worried, Ventus shook her gently. "Fuu?"

She never looked away…her eyes on Xigbar. "A-Ah…"

Xigbar grinned toothily. "To think I was only after what's-his-face. Guess I could continue that prototype from before_—"_

"Shut up!" Ventus snapped irritably. "You _don't _know Fuu!"

"As if. She has something of mine and I want it back." Xigbar tweeted, tapping the patch over his right eye. "Her _left _eye."

"You—!" Ventus was cut short when the ground started shaking ferociously. Xion yelped while Ventus stood his ground. "Fuu!" Looking into her panicked state, the air around her changed and Ventus noticed a giant, menacing shadow from behind her. _Unversed!_


	28. Subtlety

**Disclaimer: **I wished I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII._

**A/N: **Holy cow! It's been a while sense I updated this right at the pivotal point! D: Argh! I'm so sorry guys. I hope this makes up for my absence since I've been busy with a lot of things. Not going into details because you're obviously here for the story. XD

So! I'm just gonna say this, you've probably a noticed a shift of story perspective right? As in: Vanitas had more focus at the beginning and now Ventus has more focus. Well, that's intentional because I need to round off these characters equally...or at least try. OTL Either way, I hope this is still keeping up your interests. ^^

Thanks for reading and reviewing! It's much appreciated. Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

Vanitas didn't care that his lungs burned with the lack of oxygen. He just needed to get to Xion and quick! That idiot, Ventus, couldn't do anything right! Skidding around the corner, Vanitas searched for Xion and his eyes widened when he found her struggling to get up from the pavement. "Xion!"

The raven-haired girl shook her head before her cerulean eyes landed on him. "Vanitas?"

"What the hell happened?" he growled. Holding her up, Vanitas narrowed his eyes. "Where's Ventus?"

"H-He's with Fuu!" Xion replied, gripping his shirt tightly. "Vanitas, there's something wrong with her! And that guy!"

_Guy?_ Vanitas blinked only to shield Xion when a strong gust of wind came out of nowhere.

"Fuu!" He heard the blond cry out.

Peering against the wind, Vanitas could barely make out the figures of Ventus and his soulmate standing together in the eye of the storm. Xigbar—the bastard—was standing off to the side, grinning maliciously. Vanitas gritted his teeth, wanting nothing more than to wipe that look off his face.

Before his thoughts got any darker, the raven-haired male felt Xion's trembling hands gripping him tightly. "V…Vanitas, what's happening?"

He frowned. There was no way he could possibly be subtle about this anymore. Still, the last thing Vanitas wanted was for Xion to panic. Smirking slightly, Vanitas distracted her mind when he wrapped a firm hand around hers. "What? A little wind too strong for you? God, Xion, grow a pair."

"Making a joke at a time like this…" Xion scolded, though her tone was becoming steady again. She gave him a timid smile and retorted. "And you're an idiot. That's impossible for me."

"Touché. Plus, you're better off as a chick."

"No…!" Looking to his right, Vanitas spotted Terra; his face in horror before he gripped his weapon tightly. That same blackness that surrounded the brunet's left arm earlier started radiating off his entire body. "They can't summon that thing!"

Xigbar—noticing Terra's rush forward—smirked. "Finally joined the party, huh?" The brunet attempted to hit Xigbar with his weapon, but an invisible force knocked Terra away and the brunet ended up flying against a tree. Clicking his tongue, Xigbar shook his head. "That's really too bad, Terra; looks like _it _doesn't want to play with you."

"What the _frick _is he talking about?" Vanitas questioned, watching as Terra struggled to get up. Narrowing his eyes, Vanitas stood protectively in front of Xion—the girl still holding his hand tightly—as he demanded. "Hey, Patchman! What the hell are you planning on do?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's just you." Xigbar yawned before explaining. "Nothing much. I'm just…_bored. _Thought I'd have fun trying to summon the _forbidden _Unversed."

"Forbidden…?" Vanitas gaped, suddenly turning his head when he heard a ferocious roar coming in the direction of Ventus and Fuu's location. A chill ran down Vanitas's spine when he caught a glimpse of the emerging Unversed.

"Yeah, _forbidden." _Xigbar sniggered. "They don't call it the Iron Prisoner for nothing."

* * *

><p><strong>- 28 -<br>.: Subtlety :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

It was getting harder to breath, but Ventus wasn't going to let go of her! There was no way he was going stop holding her when she was obviously suffering from a backlash of emotions.

"F-Fuu!" Ventus struggled to call out, only for a strong gust of wind to slap against him. Fighting to keep his eyes open, Ventus was aware that Fuu was no longer responding to _anything. _Her visible eye was dull and lifeless and her hidden eye… Blue eyes widened in shock when he saw it. There was a crest embedded her left eye…and it was calling out to the giant Unversed roaring above them. Was _that _what Xigbar was after? Shaking his head to dissipate his shock, Ventus cried out. "Fuu, stop! Listen to me!"

A laugh echoed in his ears and Ventus glared at the cause of all this. Xigbar retained his grin and wiggled his finger. "Aw, come on now. I can't help it when you look a little stupid trying to call her back when she's so focused, kiddo."

"What did you do to her?" The blond demanded, unknowingly tightening his grip around the lilac-haired girl's upper arms…not that she would verbally or visibly respond.

"Man you guys are quick to put the blame on something." Xigbar sighed while exasperatedly shaking his head. Glancing in Ventus's direction before placing his eyes on the Unversed violently escaping it's confinement, the man replied. "I'm not doing anything as unbelievable as that sounds."

"_What—?"_

"Use your _head. _How are Unversed summon? When there's a stress involved between two soulmates, remember?" Xigbar clicked his tongue and drawled irritably. "And…who's Fuu's soulmate?"

Ventus bit down on his bottom lip in frustration. Like hell he was going to indulge Xigbar with his stupid fancies, but…the blond could tell that beneath his belittling way of talking, Xigbar was being _truthful. _Ventus already knew _how _an Unversed was born thanks to Aqua, but what has he done to Fuu that—

_Wait. _Being hit with realization, Ventus nervously asked, "I…_I'm _the reason she's…?"

"Bingo." Xigbar clapped.

"Don't listen to him, Ven! He's lying!" The blond looked to his right with a helpless look; Terra panting heavily while using his Keyblade to support himself.

Shrugging, Xigbar turned his back on Ventus and Fuu while speaking secretively, "Terra's one to sugarcoat things, but whatever. _I'm _being the truthfully one here; think of it as…giving you justice."

"Ven—!"

"…What do you mean?"

Turning around, Xigbar gave the blond a lopsided smirk. He and Ventus ignored Terra's outcries as Xigbar continued, "You honestly thought you were always paired up with _her?_ As if."

Tired of his riddles, Ventus shouted, "Stop dodging the question and make sense already!"

The Unversed roared loudly as Xigbar revealed with a chuckle. "Have you ever wondered _why _you're just falling for her now? Especially when you already had lingering feelings for your brother's girlfriend?"

That roundabout confession…it suddenly made sense out of _everything._ "N…Naminé was…"

"That's right." Xigbar dropped the subtleties. "Naminé was your _original _soulmate…but Fuu changed all that because she wanted to be a selfish little girl."


	29. Literal

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **No way, this story is _alive? _-shot- Ha, yes it is. To be honest, I sort of hit a dead end after I finished the last chapter because I didn't know how to proceed. I've only got a little less than half of the themes to finish this story and I'm still caught in this climatic 'battle'. LOL I don't want to rush things, but I think I'm getting there? I hope not… D: Anyways, I hope you don't think this chapter is rushed. :3 I tried adding certain moments for you fans of these couples and I'm hoping to drop more hints once Xigbar gets his butt kicked. LOL Anyways, yes, I'm sorry for the long wait! I hope this chapter makes up for it and I'm hoping to do a few updates for this (and my other stories) once August hits.

Thanks for sticking around for so long if you still are and I suppose I should also welcome any new readers. :D Thanks for reading and reviewing! Please enjoy and R&R!

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

For a beast of _that _caliber to actually escape a tiny girl like Fuu… Well, Vanitas wasn't expecting that in the _slightest. _He ground his teeth together the more the giant Unversed squeezed out of its warped prison. Vanitas didn't care about becoming a hero or anything…but like hell he was going to let Xion get hurt!

"V-Vanitas!" Xion quickly grabbed his arm to pull him back as he walked _towards _the danger. Looking over his shoulder, Vanitas saw the fear in Xion's eyes. "What are you _doing? _Do you wanna get yourself killed?"

"I'm not going to die. I'm just going to destroy that thing."

"B-But…! You're _crazy—!"_

"Xion." Once he gathered the raven-haired girl's attention, Vanitas swiftly leaned down and kissed her. Strangely enough, he had been chaste about his approach and Vanitas hated how sentimental he was becoming. Pulling away, he smirked a little at Xion's more than shocked expression. He once again began to walk away while coolly speaking. "Just sit back and watch, Blackbird."

He heard Xion flabbergast behind him—imagining what her face looked like—but never really _glancing _back to check. To be honest, Vanitas knew that all he could really do was force kisses on her. Xion would never initiate one…and that would remain the hard truth because he wasn't her soulmate. Deep in his heart, Vanitas really doubted that he could _ever_ be Xion's soulmate anymore and it hurt…but it was _anguish_ he needed because strong negative emotions could be advantageous right at this moment. Kissing Xion was probably the worst feeling Vanitas could ever have because she would be doing that with _Riku_ soon enough; if and when they ever reached that stupid 'Ephemeral Shift' Aqua had talked about. It was a terrible feeling Vanitas would gladly murder…but it was a feeling that was giving birth right now to a large, armored Unversed shaping out of Vanitas's shadow.

"What the hell are you…?" Vanitas sneered in Terra's direction when the brunet was finally up on his feet, glancing in shock. Terra soon narrowed his eyes. "Stop—"

"You need power, right?" The raven-haired teen's glare was cold and he literally commanded the giant Unversed with a wave of his hand. "Well use it before _I _lose control of this damned thing. I'm sick and tired of this BS already!"

Terra leered hard in Vanitas's direction, but he knew the teen was right. Engulfing his left arm in darkness again, Terra charged forward towards Xigbar, warning, "Keep it on a tight leash or I promise you that Xion _won't_ be your soulmate in the _next _life."

"Like I'll let _that _happen." His laugh was filled with hollow emptiness and Vanitas smirked, watching Terra and the summoned Unversed go on the assault. Tightening a fist in his pocket—knowing Xion's curious eyes rested on his back—Vanitas once again crammed his heart with suffering she knew nothing about. _Besides…I doubt we could go back to how things were…_

* * *

><p><strong>- 29 -<br>.: Literal :.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

It wasn't true; Naminé was _happy_ with Roxas! But…_was_ their happiness real? Especially now that Ventus knew of strings and Fate and—?

No! It was lies! _All lies!_

Ventus tried so hard to push away any and all thoughts revolving around Naminé, but they overwhelmed him to the point that he imagined a _future _with her. _He _could've held Naminé's hand; not Roxas. _He _could've confided little secrets to Naminé; not _Roxas. He _could've shared intimate moments with Naminé, _not Roxas! _And Fuu had been the one to destroy all that by cutting off his _original _thread…? How could she _do _something like that to _him?_

"That's right." Xigbar chuckled; his grin become wide and menacing the more Ventus struggled with the truth. His eyes gleamed at the magnificent sight of Fuu's Unversed becoming stronger every passing second. "Yes! Doesn't it just break your little heart how you're tied down to a girl you _never even wanted? _I know if I was affected by something like this, I'd probably kill myself; but…seeing as how I'm _immortal, _that's impossible. Ah, did I mention she came to _me _first—?"

"_Shut up!" _Ventus cried out. Xigbar was messing with his head; he knew he was. Grinding his teeth together, the blond lashed out in anger. "You manipulated her! You persuaded her when she was _weak! _You're a monster!"

Feigning hurt, the eye-patched man scoffed. _"I'm _a monster? Hey, I'm not the one with ugly feelings as evidenced by _that _Unversed from your 'girlfriend'."

Another roar escaped the Unversed and Ventus knew he was helping it grow. Ventus had to stop it from changing, but Fuu was still in a trance. Gripping her shoulders tightly, Ventus tried again. "Fuu! Please snap out of it!"

She wasn't hearing him. At most, all the wine-eyed girl did was mutter 'sorry' under her breath as if it acted like a chant. It literally broke Ventus's heart to see her this way. Fuu was hurting so much and it was all because of him. She liked him so much that she—

_Wait! Fuu liked me that much for her to…to cut my thread?_

This girl, Fuu, was stoic in every way and cold-hearted in the eyes of her peers. She was the type of girl who would definitely hate his guts for being so bright and optimistic… Why would she go for a guy like him? Ah, but the better question was:

Why did Ventus want to move on with girl _not _Naminé's archetype?

Biting his bottom lip, Ventus took Fuu's face gently in his hands. She may be listless—maybe even scared that Ventus knew the truth now—but the blond hadn't been honest with her; _completely _honest with her. He felt his cheeks warm up, knowing Xigbar was watching him suspiciously as Ventus whispered to Fuu, "You'll probably hit me later, but…"

Just before his rational side kicked in, Ventus quickly pressed his lips to Fuu's; hearing a distinctive crack ring in his ears.


	30. Difference

**Disclaimer: **I wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, but unfortunately, I don't. Just this story. :P This 50 Drabble Challenge belongs to _Terra ForceXIII. _

**A/N: **Maybe you guys now have a little idea of what I'm doing with Vanitas. :P I love this chapter andthen I hate it. Can't put it into words, but…yeah. LOL! Anyways, just a short note because I am little busy at the moment.

Thanks for reading, subbing, faving, and reviewing, guys! Twenty more chapters to go! X) Thanks to _Scribbification, RoseOfADifferentColor, Terra ForceXIII, Sakura088, becksterRES, Mirae-no-sekai, KHLegacy, Fille des Reves, Cherished Tenshi, HeartlessRhapsody, L412Y, Matty Brookes, XIIIXV, Kiome-Yasha, Damonica, 13NeverForget14, _and _SoraSakuraba896 _for reviewing during the last ten chapters! Apologies again to everyone who had to wait for an update after my hiatus. Hope you enjoy and remember to R&R! :)

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Empty Tides ~<strong>_

"Tch!" Vanitas's eyes narrowed, watching as the combined efforts between Terra's attacks and the Unversed he bore from his shadow did minimal damage to subdue the Iron Prisoner. Fuu's Unversed began to lash out violently despite only half its body sticking out of its restraints, but honestly, that giant _sledgehammer _it summoned was causing the most problems. Vanitas's Unversed tried to grapple with the Iron Prisoner, but it was a futile attempt; there was a difference in power between Vanitas's Unversed and Fuu's. "Idiot… Fight it properly!"

Terra dodged a swing of the Unversed's sledgehammer before the tip of his weapon began to glow. Gathering the darkness, the brunet pointed his weapon at the Unversed and rounds of black, bullet-like projectiles fired in succession. They had all hit their target, but the Iron Prisoner was only aggravated further. "Dammit! Where's Aqua when you need her?"

"Why do you need Bluebird?" Vanitas scoffed as his Unversed crashed into the ground. "Can't fight without your little girlfriend?"

The brunet glared and the raven-haired teen wasn't sure if it was because Vanitas gave Aqua a nickname or because he just dissed Terra's ego. Dismissing his 'dark powers' while throwing furtive glances at the fighting Unversed, Terra dug through his pockets. "She holds the other half of my power. By myself, I can only fight at fifty percent of my true strength."

"She holds half of your power…?" Vanitas gaped in utter disbelief. "Who the _hell_ are you guys? Is that a _joke? _Are you telling me you _aren't _fighting seriously?"

"Hey! When you get married—and to Harmony no less—it's pretty obvious she's going to 'lock away' what made you _beast _in the first place," Terra defensively (and just a tad bit bitterly) stated before finally pulling out a star-shaped trinket out of his pocket. Vanitas watched as Terra closed his eyes and held the orange-colored charm over his heart. The brunet began to quietly chant a spell, but Vanitas's focus was thrown towards the Unversed when it roared loudly once more.

Eyes widening in surprise, he gasped. "What?" The Iron Prisoner…it was writhing in what looked like pain as he clawed its chest, shaking unstably. Finding this the perfect opportunity, Vanitas shouted at his armored Unversed. "Do it now! Attack!"

Vanitas's Unversed smashed its fist against the Iron Prisoner, causing it to recoil. Vanitas believed they finally had the upper hand, but something was…_amiss. _Before he could even blink, the windstorm enveloping Ventus, Fuu, and the Patchman became unbearable once more. Covering his face on instinct, once the wind finished whipping and screeching in his ear, Vanitas lowered his arms only to come face to face with the Iron Prisoner; freed and _completely _dangerous.

"Ah—!"

"_Vanitas!"_ Xion screamed from the sidelines at a safe distance.

It was probably the last thing he heard before falling unconscious after the Unversed practically knocked the air (and life) out of him. In fact, Vanitas had also felt something…_heavy _press down on his heart.

* * *

><p><strong>- 30 -<br>.: Difference:.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~ Windy Skies ~<strong>_

The sound of glass shattering into pieces continued to echo in his ears, but at the same time, Ventus just couldn't focus on that; at least…not when he was practically giving away his _first kiss _to Fuu. Needless to say, he was as red as a tomato and thankful that it was _normal _to keep your eyes shut when you did kiss someone on the lips. God forbid he'd catch a glimpse of Fuu _glaring _at him for invading her personal space! …If she would just wake up.

"Wha… Impossible!" He heard Xigbar flabbergast. "Not when I'm so close!"

Ventus was only curious as to what was happening around him before he felt it; the slightest bit of hesitation against his lips. Hopeful, the blond parted the connection before opening his eyes, squeezing Fuu's shoulders. "Fuu?"

Even though she was still staring at nothing, the wine-eyed girl slowly yet surely began to break out of her trance. Fuu inhaled in surprise before her eyes found Ven's; both of her eyes revealed; no longer hiding behind her hair. "…V-Ven?"

_She called my name… _Ecstatic, Ventus immediately and tightly hugged the girl; indefinitely ignoring how Fuu froze. He laughed out of joy. "You're okay!"

She awkwardly murmured, slowly returning the hug. "S-Sorry."

"No, it's okay." Holding her at arms' length, Ventus smiled affectionately. _"I'm _sorry you went through that because of me. Fuu, I…didn't know you were suffering so much because of me. If anything—" Ventus held both of her hands and blushed "—I _like _you, Fuu. You're not Naminé and that's okay; I like you for _you."_

Her face broke free from her stoicism, leaving Fuu's heart on her sleeve. "Ven…"

"Ain't that _cute?" _Xigbar's voice interrupted sarcastically. Ventus immediately stood protectively in front of Fuu as the man drew near. "As much as I hate to break your little bubble of sappiness, I still need the little lady to call out the Unversed."

"Well she doesn't have a reason to do that anymore!" Ventus spat, smirking smugly. "No more negative feelings, you know?"

"As if! Kiddo, there's a _big _difference between the summoning Unversed with negativity and then summoning _forbidden _Unversed with _compatibility." _Grinning, Xigbar materialized a shooting weapon in hand. Ventus didn't even have time to react when the man fired his gun through a portal in space and _Fuu _had cried out, taking the hit from behind.

"Fuu!" Ventus caught her before she could fall to the ground, unconscious. The Unversed that was tied to her became unstable and a burst of wind exploded into the air. The blond instinctively protected Fuu from the gust, but when he opened his eyes, Ventus spotted the giant Unversed charging towards an unsuspecting Vanitas.

Xigbar continued. "Ya see: forbidden Unversed can be _extracted _momentarily from the host as long as a…_suitable _candidate is lying-in-wait; and considering Spiky over there has been summoning Unversed, I'd say he's perfect."

Taking the hint, Ventus gasped as he watched Vanitas's fate unfold. "Vanitas!"


End file.
